Time and Again
by A.E. Hall
Summary: Not your average WarrenOC. Lydia seems like your average highschooler at Sky High, except for the fact that she was born in the year 1553 to a chronokinetic villian and a royal mother. When tragedy strikes can she discover the key to saving her father?
1. Prologue

Prologue:

I was born in the year 1553, the accidental consequence of my father's seduction of Lady Elizabeth. She was a high lady of the court of England and he was Chrono, a super villain attempting to live in the past while the government searched for him in the present. A mission had gone terribly wrong and he had been separated from his partner, his twin brother who went by the alias of Secondhand. My father and his twin have the power to control time and bend it to their will; by changing events in the past they have the ability to change the present and future.

After I was born, my father realized how close he had come to seriously damaging history. The king, Edward VI, only a young man at the time, died and his two sisters were left as the heirs to the throne. My father and his lover had kept their backgrounds from each other and he was shocked to discover she was Lady Elizabeth, future Queen of England. It was then that the reformation of his life began. Without a second thought, he broke ties with my mother and took me back to the present, unable to bring himself to destroy his own child, even by turning back time.

Meanwhile, Secondhand had begun a rampage of destruction in the early history of Asia. When we came back to the present it was to a completely different world. My father knew his job was to right the wrongs that his brother had caused. The problem was that no one remembered how things had been, except him, and the government agency that had been assigned to track him down. I was only a baby when he turned himself in and both of us were taken into custody. With the clock running down, the agency agreed to help my father if he would, in turn, help them. My father says that when he looked down at me it was the easiest choice in the world.

My father emerged from the battle victorious but broken. The fight had taken its toll on both the chronokinetic men. For my father it was premature back trouble; for Wallace Stevens…formerly known as Secondhand, it was poor vision. My uncle was carted off to jail after refusing to work for the agency in fixing history. He would ever remain a villain at heart and seek his revenge against the onetime brother that had betrayed him. After his escape from jail four years ago, my father's work was needed again and ever since he's been busy trying to track down his twin.

How I'm alive I'll never know. The government once tried to persuade my father to turn back time and remove me from the fabric of the universe. He refused and they made a compromise to brainwash the people at court, including my mother. She was known ever since as the Virgin Queen, though a few people know better. Now I live in the present, though I hardly know what they'll put on my tombstone.

However, right now I'm more worried about the simpler things in life, like how I'm going to survive being the new girl at school for the fifth time since I started high school. I've been to three public high schools and one prep school in England, but now we've moved back to the good old U.S.A. Where else would there be a school for superheroes? I protested that it'd be too obvious, where else to look for my father but among the super-powered elite in Maxville. He said it'd be all the harder to find us and the argument stopped there.

At least our new neighbors have a son in my grade that goes to the same school, I won't be completely clueless about where to go, or how not to fall of the edge of the floating campus. For better or worse I'll be finishing off my high school career at a place called Sky High.

**AN: This idea has been buzzing around in my head lately. So, in celebration of my bday I'm posting it.**

**This story is meant to be slightly predictable. I wanted to take things that everybody has been doing and give it a twist. First of all it is going to be a Warren/OC eventually. Usually, I am completely scornful of fanfiction romance, but I've decided to try my hand at it. Some of you are groaning already but don't knock it till you've tried it. It will include a lot of action/adventure as well. This story will be very different from anything you've seen before.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Sky High but I do own Lydia and some of the original ideas in here. I also need to make a note here to say much of the plot was inspired by Jasper Fforde's works. If you've never read anything he's written you should, he is an awesome author. His works have been the inspiration behind the writing about time and some other things that will come into play later on in the story.**

**I also want to write a note here to say I do realize that chronokinesis has been a favorite topic of late in this genre, but I'm not copying anyone else by writing this. Thank you.**


	2. Second Day

Chapter 1.

I groaned inwardly and cracked my eyelids open. They gave a few weak protests before complying. Both stared straight ahead at the window, which was being subjected to a rather tempestuous rain shower. It was day two of my senior year and time to pull myself out of bed. With a sigh, I rose from the mountain of gray covers and swung my legs over the edge of the mattress. The only sound in the small house was rain hitting windows and roof. We had been told that this bout of storms was rather unusual for Maxville at this time of year. I was sure that it had followed us from the UK.

I pulled on a sweatshirt and blinked wearily at the door. Everything was blurry as I stumbled out to the hallway. My toe made contact with the edge of the doorframe and I bit my lip angrily. It would take some time before I would be used to the layout of this new abode. My father was already gone and the house, still filled with packed boxes, seemed entirely too empty.

Down the hall was our kitchen, a small affair that looked completely unused. Even though we had moved in three weeks ago, we had yet to cook anything and the pots still hung glumly on their hangers above the island. With a familiar motion I turned on the coffee machine and fumbled with a mug. It clanked as it hit the counter. Stomach churning uneasily, I waited for the hot brew. While I waited I gathered up the school books I'd left on the counter the night before.

The homework was interesting to say the least. I'd already been assigned a ten page paper on why superheroes are needed in the world. Apparently it was a traditional assignment for all senior students at Sky High. Actually, the assignment was for all senior students of the hero classification. I had learned very quickly about the strange dichotomy of the high school on my first day. It was bewildering but what could I do about it? At least there seemed to be free mingling among the two classes, it wasn't a complete caste system.

Half an hour later, I was out the door, with a bagel and my backpack. I approached our neighbor's door. Ethan was friendly enough and had put me at ease when we met, especially after he had found that I was going to attend Sky high. I wasn't looking for a best friend anyway; I was used to the new girl routine by now and was quite aware that we might be moving sometime soon anyway. It was too hard to try and make impressions on people you wouldn't see again. Being myself always worked better, less stress on me.

I rang the doorbell and then hid my hands in my long sleeves once again. Ethan was out in a moment, "Hi Dia," he said, and I winced at the unsolicited nickname. He was dressed in bright orange clothes that rebelled against the dark and gloomy weather. The boy fumbled with the door for a moment and then turned to the sidewalk.

A silent and gray walk through the misty morning brought us to the bus stop. Magenta was there waiting for us and sipping on a large thermos of coffee. I had discovered yesterday that she wasn't much of a morning person. We waited under the dripping trees and in a moment I pulled up the hood of my green sweatshirt to protect my head from the rain, which seemed to be increasing in volume. In a minute the bus would be here and the day would start.

"Did you start on your paper?" Ethan started to ask Magenta as the bus pulled around the corner at the end of the street. The sidekicks had been assigned a ten page paper on why Sidekicks are needed in the world.

She grunted a reply that sounded something like no and then all three of us were doused with dirty water as the bus pulled up to the curb.

The doors opened and Magenta entered first with a death glare for the driver. I wiped my freckled cheeks dry with the sleeve of my hoodie. My worn jeans were soaked beneath the knee and I could feel water seeping into my tennis shoes. Tom, the bus driver, an old man with huge ears and white hair, looked out from beneath his cap and smiled at us sheepishly. "Sorry," he said as we boarded, looking rather as if he enjoyed our distress.

I took a seat near the front. We were practically the first stop on the bus route. Ethan sat next to me and Magenta settled in behind us, making various unintelligible noises. We knew she'd want a seat by herself, though it would probably be taken by her boyfriend at the next stop. Zach seemed the exact opposite of Magenta with his bright clothes and I didn't quite understand the attraction there. I guess it's enough that they like each other.

I took down my hood and ran my hands through my short, unruly auburn mane, shivering involuntarily as the bus drove on. I made a mental note to bring heavier clothes tomorrow, especially if the weather kept up like this.

A little while later we pulled up to the last stop. These last two passengers were greeted with a friendly splash of dirty water like everyone else. However, Layla and Will didn't glare at the driver and the hippie even added a cheerful hello. They took seats across from Ethan and I. A couple minutes later, everyone was strapped in and took the rocketing take-off like veterans. I suppose doing that every day for four years made you able to take any amusement park ride with ease. It was only my second time and unlike my fellow seniors I disembarked the bus with wobbly legs.

"You did better today," Ethan said, brown eyes sparkling with amusement, "At least you didn't fall to the ground when you got out."

"Right, that makes me feel better," I answered, looking up at the sky. It seemed a lot brighter up on the campus and the rain was clearing.

We walked towards the school with the rest of the gang. I had been happy that Ethan had decent friends. I wasn't afraid of being by myself at lunch, it's not like I hadn't done it before, but it was nice to have people to talk to. The senior class was very small, only twenty five people and this group had just about the nicest people in the school. It seemed that this new school wouldn't be too bad after all. I just hoped I wouldn't get too attached to any of them. It was hard to keep in contact with people when you moved around so much.

000000000

I looked at the man who sat across from with something akin to disdain. Each senior at Sky High was required to meet with their advisor and plan out their life following high school. The first day Mr. Mardos had discovered I wasn't exactly cooperative when it came to drawing designs for my costume or deciding on theme music. Today he watched me for a few minutes before he spoke. His brown eyes held mine until a bell in the hall outside rang and interrupted the showdown.

"So, Miss," he glanced down at his paper with poorly-concealed forgetfulness, "Tudor, I hope you've thought more about what we discussed yesterday."

"Yes sir," I answered, trying to be as polite as possible. I really wasn't one for driving teacher's to insanity but he made it so easy, "I was wondering what other options there are."

"Options?" he asked, eyes narrowing under wiry gray eyebrows.

"Yeah," I fidgeted under the gaze, "what if I don't want to be a reporter, or district attorney or real estate agent?"

"Well, you don't have the rich bachelor option open to you…one you are female, two you aren't rich, unless there's some old relative who's apt to die in the next semester and leave their secret fortune to you," he said seriously.

"No, not really."

"Then, that question's answered."

"What if I wanted to be a teacher…I've been thinking about it and I think…"

"No," Mr. Mardos interrupted, folding his hands on the desk, "There's no way. Teaching has far too rigid a schedule to work as the cover job for any superhero. You need something with flexibility, something that won't tie you down."

"Well, I'm not really talking about a cover job, I don't really want to be a superhero," I winced even as the words emerged and wished I would've just kept them to myself.

Mr. Mardos gasped, eyebrows lifting to astronomical heights, "Well then, I have no idea why we are even speaking," he pushed my papers together and straightened them, "I'd advise you to rethink your decision, otherwise consider switching schools and saving your parents money."

"Ok," I answered meekly rising and taking the proffered folder. Avoiding his death glare, I left the room and entered the calming quiet of the halls. Apparently I had quite some time before lunch began.

I began walking slowly towards my locker, hoping I wouldn't get in any trouble for being out without a pass. How was I supposed to explain to Mr. Mardos that I had to go to this school, that the government was paying my tuition so my father didn't have to worry about it. Obviously, the administration was not very good about informing their staff about these delicate matters.

So what if I didn't want to save the world? I saw how much trouble my dad went through and where had it gotten him? I wished for a normal life. All I wanted was to graduate high school in one piece and then get my teaching degree. What was wrong with that? It wasn't as if Sky High didn't have enough students becoming men and women in tights every year. Still, I'd hate to break the news to my dad, tell him I didn't care about the responsibility we supers had. It'd seem like a slap in the face to him.

The bell rang as soon as I reached my locker. Students poured out of classrooms and offices, eager to find a good seat for lunch. By the time I entered the cafeteria it was already nearly full. Ethan waved me over to their table and I sat next to him, my sack lunch in tow. Other students passed by with brightly colored trays. A hero tripped a sidekick and high-fived his friends. Warren and Layla came and sat down across from me while Zach and Will stopped a lunch money robbery. More like, Will stopped it and Zach made smart comments targeted at the bullies.

"So how'd your advisor period go?" Ethan asked poking his casserole with a plastic fork.

"Fine," I answered, "I told him I wasn't sure I wanted to be a hero."

The table went silent and was livened only by the arrival of Zach and Will. Layla looked at me strangely while Warren glowered behind his comic book. I wondered if he actually ever ate anything since he always seemed to be reading at lunch. I could hear Ethan's gulp as he finished his bite of casserole and looked at me. I didn't look up, I was sure he'd be disappointed.

"You don't really mean that…do you?" Layla asked. If I would've known her longer I could've realized it was the same tone she used when defending animals or the vegetarian lifestyle.

Will scooted in next to his girlfriend, "What's up?" he asked noticing the somber look on the redhead's face.

"Well," I started nervously, grasping at my pant legs, "I've always wanted to be a teacher…"

A smile overtook Layla's face, "Well you can always do that when you retire. A lot of superheroes teach at Sky High after their done with their service," she looked as if she'd solved the question of world hunger.

"I just don't know," I said lamely, biting into my burrito.

"It's not that hard of a decision," Warren said, voice low and eyes flashing with emotion I couldn't interpret. I was beginning to dislike him most out of the whole group.

"Look Lydia," Layla said with a soft smile, covering my hand with her own, "We all have gifts and since we were given them it's our job to use them to help others. It's not about what we want; with great power comes…"

"Not that line again," Magenta interrupted from the other end of the table, eyes rolling.

I raised my free hand, "Yeah I know…" and the conversation ended. I was sure the group was probably wondering what kind of a person they had let into their midst.


	3. Grudges

Chapter 2.

Sometimes going to school here seems normal. I forgot I'm in a floating school surrounded by the world's future superheroes and villains. Then other times, it's blaringly obvious where I am. When you're in gym class simply trying to survive you remember that the boy on the other side does have superpowers and that your ability really isn't all that useful, despite being of hero classification. However, I had little time to reflect on that when a fireball was hurtling towards my unprotected face.

I closed my eyes for a moment and then opened them to a frozen world. Layla was a foot away, the vine she had been using stopped in mid-air. I took a step to the side knowing that the current state wouldn't last very long. I still hadn't figured out how to keep the effects of my powers any longer then a minute at a time. That hadn't changed from the time I had first discovered my uncanny ability to freeze time.

_I was outside, riding my bike up and down the sidewalk. Suddenly, I heard the angry snarl of a dog and the barely perceptible snap of the rope that held him captive. My gawky preteen body struggled to push the pedals faster, I dared a look back and saw the beast; our neighbor's slobbering German shepherd. Without a word everything around me paused, including the bike I was riding. I flipped over the handlebars and onto the motionless sidewalk. Beside me on the pavement an ant had stopped mid-scurry._

_The canine, only yards away had been caught in his stride. Slobber hanging like deformed icicles in the still moment. I didn't realize the full ramifications, I just ran as fast as I could back to the house. As I reached for the door knob things started back up. The barking continued and the dog circled the bike as it fell to the ground. I told my father right away. Years before that he had told me about my unusual birth, now I had powers like my father…but I didn't want them._

I was knocked out of my thoughts, quite literally as time started again and Layla accidentally bowled me over with her vine. Warren started to flame up again but the buzzer rang signaling that the villains had won. Layla and I had been defeated in the first round. "Sorry Layla," I offered the apology awkwardly as she and I walked to the girl's locker room. Gym was over and it was time for lunch.

"Don't worry about it," she answered hazel eyes sparkling, "It was your first time…besides I don't like that game much. It'd be much more useful if they had an exercise where teams of students worked together to achieve different goals…"

I knew that this was going to turn into a discussion I had no wish to partake in, "Yeah," I said simply as I changed back into my normal clothes, "I suppose that will happen as soon as Coach Boomer retires."

We laughed together at the seemingly impossible idea and finished in the locker room. Magenta was waiting outside in the hall for us impatiently. "I don't think you guys could have changed any slower," she said rolling her eyes.

"Not all of us can quick change like Mr. Boy," Layla said as we walked to our lockers.

The cafeteria's comforting buzz of talk surrounded me as we sat at our usual table. Ethan smiled up at me and I took a seat next to him, uncomfortable at the knowing look Magenta was giving me. Apparently no one was just allowed to be friends with someone of the opposite sex. I looked at the food on my tray dubiously, wondering if the hero hamburger sitting before me could actually be classified as meat. The rest of the gang joined us at the table as Ethan began talking animatedly about gym class.

"That was great how you dodged Warren's fireball Dia; I sure couldn't have acted that quickly."

I opened my mouth to reply but Magenta was already getting her sarcastic jab in, "You could have just melted Ethan…sides Lydia didn't really dodge it, she paused time and stepped away."

He looked back at me as I bit into my hamburger just as he turned to verify the information. I regretted not informing all of them about my power immediately. It would have been a lot less of a hassle to say it once and be done with it. I nodded to Ethan as I chewed, eager to stifle the conversation before it went any further. Magenta's constant comments were beginning to get on my nerves. She had an answer for everyone's question whether it was directed at her or not.

"So your power is over time? Can you do anything wicked like time travel or something?" Zach asked head bobbing and hands gesticulating wildly.

I almost choked on my food and reached for the bottle of water that was open on my tray. Ethan began patting me on the back awkwardly. In a moment my teary eyes had cleared and I was able to swallow. "No," I managed in a hoarse voice, tucking a stray strand of auburn hair behind my ear.

Warren and Will seemed entirely disinterested in the conversation. The pyro pulled a comic book from his bag while Stronghold began a whispered conversation with Layla. Zach was still looking at me unconvinced, certain that a reaction like that must verify his question more then negate it. Luckily he dropped the subject and gave his full attention to the food on his tray. I finished quickly, wondering almost if I could go spend the rest of the lunch hour in the bathroom without being noticed.

Instead I opted to pull my book out of my bag and finish reading the page I had left off at during Mr. Medulla's extremely boring "Krypton: Fact or Fiction" class. It was amazing how he could turn one of my favorite subjects (science) into something so incredibly dull. On the other hand it was exciting to be doing things in labs that had been taught to me in other schools as mere science fiction. I guess that's what happens when you hire a man with a huge head er…I mean brain.

Ethan finished his lunch and folded his hands on the table. He saw the ratty cover of the book and glanced at the page, "Is that Shakespeare or something?"

"Or something," I answered quietly, turning a page as Zach threw away his trash and then hovered over my shoulder before sitting back in his spot across from me.

"You actually read that stuff? How do you understand any of it?" he asked.

"It's not too hard, I…" I started but Magenta interrupted me, her black outlined eyes flashing.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's really interesting…but I prefer to read things written by people who are still alive…or at least those who know how to speak English correctly. Shakespeare is for snobs."

Will and Layla looked up distracted from their flirting. The chlorokinetic looked concerned that the argument would escalate. The before silent pyro looked up from his brightly illustrated comic book and listened. He grunted in agreement with Magenta a smirk sliding onto his lips. That distasteful display of amusement was the last straw. My dark eyes darted back and forth at the people at the table. Zach was playing with his pop can while Magenta waited for me to respond. She knew how to get under people's skin.

"For snobs?" I asked and there was a consensual nod between Warren and Magenta. Will looked as if he agreed also but Layla just looked concerned. "Well I can tell you one thing," I said getting up to throw my trash away, "Shakespeare takes a heck of a lot more intelligence than your comic books…I'm sorry I actually like reading something instead of just looking at pictures!"

Magenta smiled and then looked at Warren, obviously enjoying the conflict she had started. She was rarely offended but the same could not be said for the hot-headed pyro. His eyes burned and I could feel his anger simmering out in waves. I zipped up my bag and left the table, giving a small smile to Layla as I passed. Why did I always have to ruin things? I hated myself and the way I always managed to screw things up. This would make two lunches in a row that ended uncomfortably, me at the center of the discord.

I left the cafeteria and opted to go outside, like I should have done in the first place. Maybe it'd be better to eat away from them for a while. I didn't want to break up their utopia because of my issues. The weather outside had cleared considerably and the grass was remotely dry. Several people were eating at tables around the campus. Coach Boomer stood a little further on, keeping a watchful eye on everyone. I turned swiftly trying to avoid him and headed to a vacant bench sitting under a tree.

I sat and opened my book again, unable to concentrate on the neatly typed words. They swam in front of my watery eyes.

"_Your life isn't normal," he said placing a hand on my small head. I was only twelve. Twelve years old and deathly afraid of the powers I had discovered. I didn't want my life to be twisted this way. How I had wished that the powers that chained my father wouldn't pass to me. Now it seemed all that wishing had been futile. My father looked down at me with warmth showing in his blue eyes, he seemed proud of the abilities I had discovered._

I looked down at the page again and a shadow fell across the bench. I looked up expecting Ethan and saw no one. Confused I glanced around the school campus, about fifty feet away near the wall of the school was a man, he had bright auburn hair, very much like my own, and was dressed in a suit with sunglasses and a briefcase. He looked the epitome of a secret agent. For a moment it seemed he looked straight at me.

"Lydia," someone called from the other direction. It was Layla hurrying over with Magenta. Probably to forcibly make the shape-shifter apologize. I glanced back towards where the man was but it seemed he had disappeared. I looked around with consternation, wondering if I should tell the Principal what I had observed.

"Lydia," Layla said again breathlessly, "Ethan and Warren got into a fight."

Magenta folded her arms and looked as if everything that happened just a little while ago had been forgotten. Apparently she was as eager to forgive as she was to start the argument. I was surprised though that Ethan had actually done something about Warren's surly attitude and had forgotten the man completely.

"Ethan got into a fight?" I asked skeptically.

"Well actually, Warren started it. He said something about you being a smart-mouth," Magenta cleared her throat here and rolled her eyes, "You know."

"Uh-huh," I answered, not having the slightest clue to what the pyro had actually said.

"Anyway," Layla took over the narrative, "Ethan said he was just grumpy about being shown up in save-the-citizen…which is probably true…and the two went at it."

"Physically?" I said, trying to imagine Ethan standing up to anyone.

"Not quite," Layla answered tugging at one of her red ponytails.

"Actually he just melted and Warren slipped in the puddle but Powers still sent them to detention," Magenta finished, half-grinning at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Oh..." I replied standing up and getting my things together. It must be close to the bell anyway. As we walked back to the school I turned to Magenta, "So does this mean we're square?"

She grinned, "Sure, I don't like drawn out fights anyway, I just like arguing…sides you're going to have enough trouble with Warren as it is, he likes holding grudges."


	4. Movie and Mystery

Chapter 3.

Last night I had finally unpacked the boxes that had encased all of my belongings. My room actually resembled something close to what it had been in England. It made me sad every time I made everything perfect. By the time I arranged everything the way I wanted it we could be moving again. And yet I couldn't bring myself to live out of boxes the way my father did.

It was Saturday and my father was still gone. He had left a note on the table saying he'd left at three o'clock that morning and would not be home until late that night. I hadn't woken up until the afternoon, tired, I suppose from the strenuous exercises Coach Boomer was obsessed with. The weather must have cleared overnight because everything was sunny and bright. The light was so painful to my eyes that I winced involuntarily as I passed the window in my room.

I was getting ready for my usual boring day, shower, food and change of clothes. After breakfast I changed into a plain gray t-shirt and my black basketball shorts. As I took off my socks I glanced at the bottom of my left foot and the tattoo that was there. I still remember the day we had it put on.

_My eleven year old eyes looked around the shop curiously. I didn't quite understand why my dad had brought me to this part of town. The man who ran the place was at least three times my size. He looked like a wrestling champion with tattoos all the way up both arms. I had always been afraid of needles. My father tried to distract me by talking but that had only worked up until the point had touched my skin. After it was over and we were back at home my father finally explained the significance of the mark._

"_Don't ever use it Lydia, unless the worst should happen," he had said, blue eyes solemn. I wouldn't know what the worst was until a later discussion._

Now I barely went barefoot, making sure to keep the mark secret, it would look insignificant to anyone else. It was a set of numbers, strangely altered, but when I held a mirror to it there was revealed a nine digit phone number. When my father began to train me, after my power had manifested itself I would understand better what exactly the number was for.

I sighed and let my foot back down onto the floor. Some people think a life like mine would be fun. They don't take into account the long nights spent alone while your dad's out saving the world. They don't know what it feels like not knowing if he'll come back again, or if you'll have to run from your insane uncle within the next week. I can't blame them, though movies make us all seem pretty invulnerable. The sad part is that the strongest superhero can be brought down by a tragedy same as anyone else on earth.

I finished my pessimistic mulling and grabbed the basketball off the floor. It was weathered and worn from years of playing. It was my constant companion and only diversion while my father was gone; television had lost its flavor years ago. Outside one could see that fall was on its way. Trees around the neighborhood were sporting new, vibrant colors that would turn to brown all too soon.

I bounced the ball through my legs a couple times in a weaving pattern. We didn't have hoop, or even much of a driveway but I had managed with less. It had always been calming for me to stand outside with the steady rhythm of the basketball hitting the pavement and then my hand. I had played on a team my freshman and sophomore year, but after that, moving around always got in the way.

"You're pretty good at that," a voice startled me from behind and I turned to see Ethan standing at the end of our driveway. He pushed up his glasses and gave a quick, bright smile.

"Thanks," I replied, turning with the basketball held against my hip, "I used to play on a team, I'm kind of disappointed that Sky High doesn't have one," I finished and dribbled the ball up and down for a moment.

"Yeah, that might be dangerous though," he said walking towards me. The hem of his orange checkered pants dragged on the ground. He stood beside me as I waited for him to reveal the ulterior motive behind coming over.

I could probably guess what it was all about. Ever since the "fight" a couple days ago I had been eating outside and from all accounts Warren had been eating by himself. Besides, from what I had observed, Ethan seemed to be the fifth wheel at school. It wasn't as if the rest of them meant to do this, but it came naturally. With two dating couples and a sullen, anti-social pyro it was pretty obvious that he was left out of things. He probably was as entertained on the weekends as I was. I didn't mind hanging out with him…he was a bit eccentric, but then, so was I.

I bounced the ball again, realizing that I probably wouldn't be completing my drill with him standing here, "Do you want to come inside?" I asked, "It's still pretty disorganized but we have stuff to drink, I need to get some water anyway."

"Sure," he said smiling, and then followed me into the house.

I almost laughed at the comical picture he made, standing there in my kitchen wearing clothes brighter then most of the nail polish I owned. He was thin, though Layla had told me he had grown so much last year that his body hadn't caught up yet. Apparently before that, he had been extremely short as well. At least now he wasn't completely dwarfed by Zach and he stood a good four inches over me…considering I'm only 5'5". Course I could probably break him like a twig, I've been affectionately called curvy but I just think of myself as thick.

I tossed a pop can to him over the island in our kitchen and reached down for another, "My dad's away on business," I explained as the silence closed in.

"Oh," he answered unconcerned, "My parents retired a couple of years ago after my little sister was born."

"I know I didn't really say anything about it that day but thanks for saying something to Warren…sorry you got into trouble."

"Oh, don't worry about it…I think Layla would have said the same thing if I hadn't first," he said in an awkward tone looking down at the counter as if it was very interesting. His cell phone rang and he rolled his eyes at the cheesy little tune.

He flipped open the orange device, "Hello?"

I opened my can, trying not to listen in to the conversation. Hopefully it was Layla calling asking him to do something with them. Then he wouldn't be here acting as if we were in third grade. Something about his whole tone when he talked to me had me worried. Unfortunately I didn't have enough experience to actually know what all of it meant.

"Well, I'm over at Dia's house right now. I don't know…she might…I'll ask," he finished and covered the speaker with his hand.

"Do you want to go to the movies with the gang tonight? They were calling to see if I'd come."

"Sure," I replied without thinking. It wasn't as if my father and I had any big plans for the weekend. I was usually more introverted but Ethan looked as if he wanted me to come.

He turned back to his phone and told whoever it was, presumably Layla, that we'd meet them at the theater in half an hour. Then Ethan put his phone away and turned back to me. I was busy pulling the tab off of my can, "Sorry about that, we can still bail if you want."

"It's ok, a movie will be fun, who's coming?"

"Everyone I think, Will, Layla, Warren, Magenta and Zach," I examined his face as he spoke. He seemed like he wanted to go, but I wasn't an expert at reading expressions.

I suppose if I would have been intelligent in any small way I would have asked exactly what movie we were going to. I guess everyone makes mistakes but this would be a major one on my part. Ethan and I rode there in his orange Jeep and arrived just on time to see the others walking in. To my surprise Warren was there. As we walked up he glanced at us but didn't stare long very long. Magenta had already purchased the tickets, her treat, apparently there was more money in her family then met the eye.

The seating arrangement was awkward with the two couples sitting together in one row and the other three of us down one row. Thankfully I ended up at the end, with Ethan on one side and Warren sulking next to him. The commercials started and as the lights went down I realized what movie we had come to see. It was a new release and rated R, I squirmed uncomfortably in my chair. When we had shown the lady our tickets she hadn't even asked for id, I was only seventeen and had a hard time with moderately scary movies. This movie "Keepers III" had been advertised all over the web as the latest thrill, with gore enough to satisfy even the most hard core movie fanatic.

As the movie screen began churning with blood and had reached its third decapitation I looked at my hands, realizing it was time to get up and leave. At that moment I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Ethan had begun to stretch his arm and I closed my eyes hoping I was just hallucinating. I opened them again as he settled it over my shoulders.

What was I supposed to do? Sit there acting completely normal and let him think that I was ok with it all? I didn't like him that way, and I knew it would only hurt him more if I pretended to. I'd never been at a school long enough for someone to like me. There had been the occasional question, but I never stayed long enough to have to deal with it all.

Layla suddenly screamed along with most of the theater and I looked at the screen and almost threw up. Without a second thought I turned to Ethan, "I have to go to the restroom," I said and stood. Half-crouching I exited the row and hurried out of the darkened room. The lights in the hall were dim, but bright enough to show that the theater was mostly empty.

The lady at the ticket desk watched as I left the building and went out into the open air. I sat on one of the clean stairs and took a deep breath of fresh air. It was so awkward sitting there, watching dozens of murders while Ethan subtly tried to hit on me. He was nice, there was no contesting that, but I'd never really liked anyone that way, I'd never had the chance and there was more for me to worry about then bagging a boyfriend.

I don't know how long I sat there wondering and worrying. I realized I'd have to explain my behavior, Ethan was supposed to drive me home. Time and again I tried to call the house, hoping that my dad had returned home early. There was no such luck in my life. I gazed around as people milled back and forth between the parking lot and their cars. One of them had been standing by his car for awhile. He moved slightly and with a start I realized it was the same man I had seen before at Sky High.

Without hesitation I used my power and paused time, running towards him as quickly as I could. Just a few yards and I'd reach the car. I'd seen him standing behind it. Here it was, I turned the corner around the bumper of the car and no one was there. The space that had been occupied by the man was now empty. Frustrated, I shook my head and sprinted back to my place on the stairs before time began its normal run.


	5. Waking Dream

Chapter 4.

Evening was coming and the movie should be out at any moment. I was still confused about the man; I could swear that it was him; same outfit, same hair, and same secret agent look about him. My power should have stopped him in his tracks. By using it I was able to pause the world around me, but in fact that's not what I did. To do that would be an enormous task requiring a lot of energy. My actual ability helped me to move almost at a rate faster then time itself so that everything around me seemed to be frozen.

When we first discovered this my father and I experimented extensively. I could use the power to stop him with no troubles, even though he also had a sort of chronokinetic power. This made the man even more mysterious, either he knew I was coming and was able to transport himself, or he had immunity to my power that enabled him to move at the same rate I did. Either way it was looking more and more like he was following me or someone else from the gang at Sky High.

I heard familiar voices. Warren, Ethan and Zach exited the movie theater. Apparently, the others were visiting the bathrooms. Ethan looked depressed until he saw me. His face lit up and I wondered how I hadn't noticed his crush before. Warren brought up the rear, passive and expressionless as usual. Apparently I had been the only one completely offended by the movie. Now I would have to explain myself to them and ride home with an infatuated Ethan.

"Some movie," Ethan said his voice lost in the silence, "Where did you go?"

"I didn't want to watch anymore," I answered simply looking up at him from where I sat.

"What are you talking about girl, that movie was awesome," Zach said leaning from one side to the other, his hat perched ridiculously slanted on his head. I wondered if he was just bluffing but Magenta confirmed it to me.

She came out the door silently just in time to hear what Zach had said. With a cunning grin on her face she came up and pinched him on the side of his neck, whispering, I assumed a line from the movie in his ear. The effect was immediate. The tall boy jumped nearly a foot in the air and yelped like a little girl. Everyone started to laugh and the tension was eased for the moment.

Magenta repeated Ethan's question and sat down to me. I was vaguely surprised by her friendliness. "I couldn't stay and watch that, it was disgusting."

"Don't worry about it," Warren said suddenly stepping closer to us, "I forgot that you're better suited to snobby actors spouting love sonnets…maybe next time we can all go to the theater."

I took the jab silently, knowing that I deserved some kind of retribution for the comments I'd flung at him. Still I felt myself liking him less and less as I got to know him. Layla and Will joined us; I noticed they were not holding hands. Will looked green while the redhead just looked extremely put out.

"I went to get a refund for my ticket," Layla said, and for once I agreed with the results of her firm convictions. She crossed and offered the money to Magenta, "It's really your money Magenta."

"Don't worry about it Layla, just keep it. I liked the movie," Magenta said brightly and I didn't doubt it. She was a unique one, that was certain.

Soon everyone was breaking off and getting ready to go home. I joined Ethan and said goodbye to the rest. It was time to brave the ten minute ride home which I knew would seem much longer. I gazed across the parking lot mind whirling not with concerns about the mysterious secret agent or about Warren's comments but about what I'd say to Ethan. I didn't have to wait long. As soon as we parked in his driveway he turned to me words already tumbling from his mouth.

"Lydia, I know we've only…we haven't known each other very long but I've never felt this way about anyone before and…"

I interrupted before he could really embarrass himself, "Ethan," I faltered, completely unsure of what I should be saying, "I really appreciate having you for a friend…and right now I'm really not ready for anything else. Good night," and I darted across the yard to my house hoping that somehow my words were more comforting to him then they sounded in my own ears.

I fumbled with the key and opened the door to the house quickly. My heart was beating out of my chest like I had just escaped death. Silently I reprimanded myself, this was nothing worth getting all flustered about. The house was still empty and it made me angry. I spent the next day as pointlessly as any other making an obvious effort to avoid going outside. I just wished that Monday would come more quickly so I could have something to do.

My father didn't come home on Sunday either and it worried me a bit. At one point he was forced to be gone a week without telling me. Still I didn't use the phone number tattooed on my foot then, somehow I knew he'd come back. This time it felt vaguely different, as if he wouldn't. I tried to reassure myself that it was just fear speaking and busied myself unpacking all the boxes in the house during the day.

That night I collapsed on the bed with no thoughts save those about my dad. While I slept, fitful dreams and echoes of the past kept me awake all night. Near morning I had the most vivid recollection of all. It was almost as if I hadn't been sleeping.

_I opened my eyes and he was sitting there at the side of my bed, reading a book I've long since forgotten the title of. He smiled when he saw I'd opened my eyes, but suddenly I knew that something was different. There was an unidentified scent in the air or something resting slightly on the tip of my tongue. Suddenly, I realized what it was, my room was different and instead of the sunny Californian sky outside I saw stormy clouds from the window._

_My father almost read my mind and nodded with a smile playing on his lips. "I thought you'd know, but I wasn't sure," he said and seemed pleased that I had noticed this unexplainable phenomenon. "You see honey," he said laying his big hand over my small one, "Every time I help to change something back to the way it should be, some small event changes. This time I had to change an event that in turn changed where we moved last time," he paused wondering if I understood._

"_You have a special gift, I have it also. Both of us are able to remember what happened before these changes take place. We can sense when someone has done something to change the past and in turn the future. If you didn't have that gift you wouldn't know that we had ever lived in California, you'd think we'd always been here in Washington."_

_I nodded, comprehension slowly seeping into my twelve-year old brain. _

"_Now that I know you have this gift, I can help you. Whenever this happens, I'll be here," he pointed to the chair beneath him, "To explain everything. If I'm not here," his voice grew suddenly serious, "Then you'll know something's gone wrong…and whatever you do, don't tell anyone about what's changed…even me. If I don't come to your bed but I'm in the house," his voice grew soft, "It'll be him."_

At the time, I didn't quite understand everything my father told me. Later I would learn exactly what his words meant. He'd tell me more, give me advice on what to do if the worst should happen and he didn't come home. We worked out scenarios with my pausing ability to configure plans to keep me safe. He was always worried about my safety and rarely about his own. So now I know exactly how to tell when something's gone wrong.

Like that morning, I woke up and the wall across from me was painted yellow, instead of the light steel-blue it was before. The bookshelf was moved to a different wall and the room itself was different. Glancing out at the street, I could tell that it wasn't the same one, and Ethan most definitely did not live beside us anymore. I reached to my neck as I began breathing faster and faster. There on my neck was a strange piece of jewelry. This had to be a part of the dream. I was still asleep.

I opened my eyes again and waves of panic took over then and I stayed buried in the foreign white comforter. Hopefully, my father would come down the hall in a moment and wake me up, telling me he had been late from a mission. That was it, he had just forgotten to come sit next to the bed…he was late.

But he was never late; there was no excuse that would change what had happened. My father, my real father was gone and if I found someone like him in the house it would be Secondhand posing as Chrono. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself, fingers toying with the necklace. My father's words came into my head.

"_The first thing to do is make sure you know that he's an imposter. Wallace has bad vision and will be wearing contacts. Check the bathroom for wash and a contact case. If you find it you'll know…if he has his own bathroom wait until he's gone and then check it. There will be other signs, so be as aware as possible."_

I was suddenly glad that my father had cared enough to tell me about these things, even if it scared me to death. Heart pounding, and all other problems forgotten, I got up from the bed and looked around. The room was clean, and many of my belongings were still there. The backpack on the floor was the same. A couple of new textbooks were in it, and the familiar ones looked more beat-up than usual.

I tried to give myself a pep talk. First I needed to act confident; if my "father" was a fake then he would sense discomfort. He would remember the past like me, but he'd expect me not to remember. I still had to go to school…maybe I could ditch, wait till he left the house and then search the bathrooms. "What then," I muttered aloud. I had no idea of how to save my father yet. The only thing to do was to walk out the bedroom door and discover what this alternate dimension was like. The things that changed might give me an idea as to what had happened.

The door creaked open and I stepped out into the hallway. The house was quite a bit larger than the one we had owned before. The floors were wood and led swiftly to a large living room, where a man sat reading a newspaper. He looked like my father, graying hair that had been a dark brown, but I knew better than to assume he was. He looked up, blue eyes shining and smiled. My father always smiled without teeth but this man was showing his pearly whites without a thought. I realized I must be staring.

"Morning," I said without a thought, my heart beating out of my chest.

"Good morning sweetie," he said and then turned back to his newspaper, "You better hurry or you'll be late for school."

"Course, school," I stood looking completely confused.

"Principal Powers won't be happy to see you in detention again if you are late to class."

I smiled inwardly, "Yup, I better get going," and turned back the way I had come. I threw on an outfit and then searched the closed doors next to mine for a bathroom. Apparently I still went to Sky High, though for one reason or another I had been getting detentions. I was almost sure the man in the living room was Walter Stevens and not Harold Stevens, my father. When I looked under the sink and found a bottle of contact solution I was even more confident.

I took a few deep breaths and gathered up my books from my room. There was a purse on the floor and I took that also, noting that there was a license and car keys in it. The necklace I had been toying with was a simple black leather choker with a round metal charm, in the middle an hourglass shape was punched out. I touched it with something bordering on familiarity. My father had told me some memories or feelings of the changed past might come to me even though I had not actually lived through it.

I tried to be discreet as I left the house but had no such luck, "Honey, don't forget to fill up the gas tank when you come home from school, it was pretty low when I brought it home this morning."

"K, dad...Where's the yellow pages? I need it for a school project," I was amazed at how easily the lies slipped from my mouth. If I was going to drive to school I'd need to know where it was. It was obvious to me that if I could drive a car there then it was located in a different place.

"It's on the kitchen counter I think."

**AN: Thank you to all my reviewers, hopefully you all received my responses. To my anonymous reviewers: belle, blueglass25 and theriz, thank you so much for leaving a review, it's encouraging to hear from everyone.**

**To the numerous people who have asked, yes it is a Warren/OC but first and foremost it's an action/adventure story. You'll understand soon enough what I have in store, but be forewarned that their relationship is not going to be my first priority while writing. If this makes you want to quit reading, be my guest, but I'd ask that you give the story a chance. I take my time when developing a plot so there aren't going to be any instant answers.**


	6. Scary School

Chapter 5.

I think it should be said here that in my reality I had never obtained my license. It didn't seem very important and besides we never had time to drive. Now as I was faced with driving a car by myself in this alternate reality, it seemed like a minor problem. When stacked up against the fact that I had to change history to save my father, driving this vehicle, no matter how beat-up it looked, seemed a trifle.

As I drove down the street away from my new home and my fake father, my mind was plagued by questions. How had this happened? What was I supposed to do about it? I knew the first thing was to call the number. If it was ever to be used, the time was now. So to the dismay of several people behind me I swerved into the parking lot of the nearest gas station. Minutes later I was still searching through my belongings. A cell phone was discovered in my backpack and a quick dive into my purse revealed a small compact with a mirror and a pen.

Hurriedly and to the consternation of whoever might be watching, I stripped off my sock and shoe. After a couple very acrobatic moves I had the mirror at the right angle to reflect the image of the tattoo back at me. Eagerly I scribbled the revealed digits down on my arm. Then, I flipped open the cell phone. I looked at the surprisingly hip device with disdain. Would it be safe to use this?

What if Secondhand was listening in on the call? What if the number showed up on the bill and was revealed to all? With a muffled groan I slammed my head down on the steering wheel. The horn beeped loudly startling me and the old man on the sidewalk. I mouthed 'sorry' and grabbed my purse. I could always use the pay phone right? Besides I needed some caffeine anyway. I entered the little store and headed to the back towards the refrigerated section. The floor was tiled and grimy, the shelves in disarray. All in all it was the usual type of establishment for a gas station.

Another teenager was already in front of the drinks with her back to me. She was about my height with long gorgeous black hair worn down to her shoulder blades. From what I could see she looked like a hard core goth with black pants and a dark purple satin shirt. I waited silently behind her, trying not to hum as I so often did when nervous. She made her choice and shut the door.

Her face was shown in the glass divider and our eyes met. I tried not to let my jaw drop as Magenta turned around towards me with a smile, "Hey Lydia, you ditching first hour again?"

"Maybe," I said trying to sound playful. The truth was I didn't know if I'd show up at school at all today. My first priority was calling that number. I didn't want to act suspicious by staring at the changed Maj, so I opened the door she had just closed and pulled out an iced coffee, "Are you ditching?" I asked hoping to turn the conversation away from me.

"No, I have a test first hour that I can't miss. I just wanted to get some breakfast beforehand, you know?" she said holding up her energy drink and a package of skittles.

"Yeah, some breakfast." I answered looking her up and down as we walked to the cash register.

She paid and then waited as I bought my stuff as well, "So Lydia, if you're not ditching, you think you could give me a ride? I left the house kind of late today, and I'll probably be late if I walk the rest of the way," she widened her dark eyes and took on a pouting expression.

"Sure, I can give you a ride, but uh…I have to make a quick phone call first."

"Here, you can use my cell phone," she said pulling it out of one of the voluminous pockets in her pants.

"Thanks," I answered as I took the change from the man at the counter and then took the proffered phone. I took a couple steps away from the counter and turned my back to them. Stealthily, I slid my sleeve up to reveal the number and dialed it in. Secondhand wouldn't be listening into her phone conversations right? I told myself to stop being so paranoid and plugged my other ear as I listened to the ringing.

The other line rang two or three times before someone answered. I heard the door behind me open with a jingle and then close again, "Go to school," a man's voice commanded from the other end and then just as abruptly the phone call ended. I glared at the screen before ending the conversation from my line. I was outraged by the simple instruction, but really what other option did I have? I closed the phone and pushed back my short auburn hair with an exasperated sigh.

I turned back to Magenta who was rather engaged flirting with the guy behind the counter. I rolled my eyes and walked towards her, "Here," I said handing her the phone, "Are you ready to go?"

"Uh-huh," she answered following me to the door. We approached the car silently, and got in. I wondered if it was even ethical of me to drive with her in the car, considering my notable lack of skill driving. Then again, if she could walk there then the school must not be that far away. I pulled under the awning to fill the car's tank, at least I knew how to do that, and then we were off.

Magenta startled rambling as soon as we had pulled out of the parking lot, "Gosh he was a hottie," I assumed she was talking about the cashier she'd been flirting with, "I mean if you weren't already dating I'd say you should've gone and talked with him."

I looked at her curiously, _dating? _"What guy?"

The gothic girl turned to me, eyes rolling under dark eye-shadowed lids, "You're kidding right? That guy in the magazine aisle that was staring at you," she laughed, "I can't believe you didn't see him, he was totally checking you out. It looked like he was heading to work: black suit, sunglasses the whole nine yards. He's probably some genius who graduated college early and got snapped up by the FBI…wasn't too old, twenties maybe…"

A doubt was growing in my mind, black suit, sunglasses, FBI? This was all leading to a very strange conclusion, "What color was his hair?" I asked suddenly, interrupting her tirade on his looks.

"So you do want to know? Reddish, kinda like yours…maybe a little darker, it looked good on him though…you know if you and War…"

I slammed on my breaks at the stoplight almost causing the car in the back of us to rear-end me. Magenta was silenced by the swearing of the man behind us. She quickly rolled up her window and reminded me to take a left at the next light. It was so strange, almost inconceivable that even in this alternate dimension that strange man was stalking me. Who was he? What did he have to do with all of this? I was very suspicious that he was some kind of spy for my uncle and hoped he hadn't been able to track my call with some strange spy gadget.

"Was the guy watching while I used your phone?" I asked Magenta trying to sound nonchalant.

"No, he got a call and left…didn't even buy anything. Why?" now she was sounding suspicious.

"No reason," I answered in a high-pitched tone as the school loomed up before us. I looked on the compound with shock, trying not to betray my inner feelings.

The building was surrounded by tall wire fencing and there was only one entrance. There were hardly any windows in the building and they all looked to be rather small. I pulled into the parking lot and was immediately stopped by a security guard dressed in all black. Searching frantically, I found a school id in my wallet and flashed it at him. He nodded and waved his hand for me to enter. It didn't look like anybody was assigned certain parking spots. I hoped not to interfere with that at least. The large gray prison-like building rose up before me as I pulled into a spot and turned off the car.

It was too much to see the beautiful campus transformed into a place that looked like it was meant for juvenile detention wards. I suppose that's what made me sit in the car with my eyes welling up. Maybe it was the fact that my father was probably dead somewhere in the past and I had no idea how to save him. At any rate this dimension was turning out to be rather grey and dismal. The storm clouds overhead and the howling wind only added to the atmosphere of despair.

I just wanted to sit there all day and pretend away the problems that plagued me, but I reminded myself that I couldn't, especially with Magenta watching me. We both exited the car. I noticed that most of the students had already gone inside. Apparently, I was going to be late again if I didn't move quickly. I wiped my eyes, hoping my mascara wasn't smeared. Nervously I touched the charm at my throat and locked my car. Hey, at least I had figured out how to drive without killing anyone.

We walked up the concrete steps, avoiding several old pieces of gum that sat there, wishing for some disinfectant. I hadn't realized what a blessing Sky High really was until I saw this building, awash in grime and graffiti. The doors opened to reveal several student packed halls and I thought with panic that I didn't know where to go; I didn't even know where my locker was. What was I supposed to do? Ask Magenta? She was already looking at me like I was crazy. Mosey into the office and tell them that I had forgotten my locker combo and my class schedule?

I turned just in time to see Magenta break off at a classroom. She gave a small wave and then was gone, leaving me to the chaotic atmosphere of the hall. Suddenly, I saw Warren Peace a little ways in front, looking around as if he was watching for someone. With dread my eyes locked onto his and he came striding over. The strange thing was he was smiling. Not the half-grin that I had sometimes seen, but actually smiling. I hoped I hadn't done something to make him mad and looked around for a quick exit. He stopped in front of me and his grin disappeared, "What's wrong Lyd?"

"Lyd?" I thought to myself, wondering what the heck kind of nickname that was. I didn't have much time to respond because he bent his head down to kiss my cheek. Without thinking I froze the moment an instant before his lips met my skin. This was unbearably strange. How did something so implausible come to be, was I dating him? What happened to him hating me? I longed for the cold shoulder and suddenly the time freeze was let go.

The action happened before I could take note of what it felt like. He straightened, obviously waiting for a response to his question. "Nothing," I stuttered and looked at my toes while a red blush crept up my neck. He nodded but seemed to want to say more when a bell rang in the hall, ushering all remaining students to hurry to class.

Before I could ask him exactly where my class was he grabbed my hand and I followed. Either we had the same first hour class, or we were ditching. Considering the character of the pyro it was probably the latter. I glanced at several people in the halls, recognizing some, being confused by others who looked strangely changed. Zach passed us, but he was dressed in dark colors that didn't seem to suit him at all.

I thought at least some would stare at the strange sight of Warren Peace walking down the hall hand in hand with a girl but no one gave us a second glance. We stopped outside a classroom door and he let go of my hand as we passed through the open door. Before I could react another student shoved through, right past me, pushing me into the wall as he walked out of the classroom.

Warren turned at my small, muffled protest and we both watched the retreating back of Will Stronghold. "Stronghold, watch where you're going," Warren yelled at him and was promptly met with the finger. My eyes widened in shock as we sat down in the last two empty seats in the classroom. Will just flipped off Warren Peace after shoving me into a wall? There was much more changed in this dimension then I had thought would be possible.


	7. Revealed Relation

Chapter 6.

The teacher, an elderly woman with piercing orange eyes was calling role. It was the last class of the day until lunch and I was paying very little attention to what was happening around me until I heard the teacher say, "Layla Chloris?" I glanced to the other side of the room where the redhead was sitting. Her hair seemed longer, but for the most part she looked the same. Something about her manner had changed though, instead of a chipper, "Good Morning" she said "Here," sullenly and then turned back to her notebook.

No one else from the old group was in the class, but that didn't surprise me. If they still used the hero/sidekick classification then Zach, Magenta and Ethan would be in a different class. Layla saw me staring and turned her nose up at me like I was of a completely different species. Our relationship must've been strained somehow because now she was giving Warren a death glare.

The pyro was sitting with his legs sprawling out under my desk. As far as I could tell nothing had changed, at least physically, about him. To be honest, I really hadn't ever noticed how nice his smile was until that day, but I suppose it was because I'd never seen it before. I must have been staring because the teacher had to call my name twice before it registered in my head.

"Here," I said and turned back to the front trying to sort out my thoughts. However interesting it was to sit here and figure out all the differences in this new reality, it wasn't accomplishing anything. Why did they want me to go to school? Who wanted me to go to school?

Lunch time came more quickly then I had imagined. I had been forced to sit through all three classes with the pyro with me and now, at lunch, it seemed I wouldn't be able to escape. The only excuse I had was to go to the bathroom, the one place he wouldn't be allowed to follow me, though I suppose I'd been the one following all day. Warren was still Warren no matter what dimension, and he was no one's puppy dog.

I entered the bathroom and almost turned around to leave again when I saw the terrible condition of the facilities. In fact I had almost decided to leave when I heard the door opening again. Layla entered and then froze in place when she saw me at the sink. With a smirk she joined me and took her mascara out of her purse, intent, apparently on retouching her makeup. I didn't say anything and my legs began shaking. Something about her new attitude frightened me.

"So," she said with a fluid turn of her neck, green eyes narrowing to look at me for a moment, "How are you and Warren doing?"

"Great," I answered with little confidence.

"That's good…I'm so glad to hear that. Cause you know, I had heard that the two of you were breaking up."

The way she said it made me think that she had heard nothing of the sort. Seeing her standing there in front of the mirror, the perfect little cat, and so different than the sweet girl she had been, made me mourn for this bizarre little world I'd fallen into. My uncle may have not known the full implications of his actions but these changes alone, in Will and in Layla were enough to label him a villain. I turned to leave, not even bothering to answer her question.

I loitered in the halls a bit, trying to remember exactly which locker Warren had pointed to when we had retrieved our books. He had looked at me like I was an alien when I'd asked, rather timidly, where exactly my locker was located. Now I'd have to return to that uncomfortable game of pretend, who knew what would happen if I ditched "my boyfriend" at lunch. Alternate dimension or not, I was pretty sure he still had the same bad temper.

Now you must not think I wasn't scared out of my wits about this whole situation, because in fact, I was quite afraid. The thing was, I knew what I had to do and so my mind stopped thinking about the frightening aspect of the whole situation. I performed each action with apathy like a robot completing pre-programmed commands.

I assumed the "usual spot" was outside since Warren had been heading towards the door when we parted. I guessed that it would take half the lunch period to find him but upon opening the doors I saw both him and Magenta immediately; they were sitting on an unstable looking picnic table under one of the sickly trees that decorated the school campus. I walked towards them, stomach queasy, trying to think of things to talk about that wouldn't make me seem like a total amnesia patient. The grass was brown, so dead I doubted it had ever been green. The weather was still bright, but the overall weightiness of the gray school's atmosphere doused any cheerfulness that might have rendered.

The pyro looked up and stared as I walked over to the bench. I sat down on the opposite side, next to Magenta, hoping that was a safe distance. He looked at my empty hands as I set my backpack on the ground. "You aren't going to eat?" he asked, peeling an orange from his bagged lunch. The citrus scent was refreshing and cleared my mind enough to answer.

"No, I'm not hungry," I answered, hoping I sounded convincing. The truth was I was starving but I couldn't tell him that I was afraid of entering the cafeteria. Magenta opened a bag of chips and I wondered vaguely if it was always just the three of us.

He glanced up from his orange, fingers frozen, "You're always hungry…what, too afraid to go into the cafeteria without me?"

I tried not to laugh but a nervous chuckle escaped. Apparently dating Warren Peace didn't make you exempt from being made fun of, "Yeah, that's it Warren…What?" I asked as his expression changed.

"Nothing," he said pulling apart the fruit into slices, "You just haven't called me Warren since last summer."

Heart pounding out of my chest I tried to think of what I should be calling him. There was no way I was using some endearing term like honey. Why would he want me to call him something different from his name? How was I going to survive this alternate dimension if I couldn't figure out how to address people? Needless to say my mind was racing with unpleasant situations where I tried out a word and the pyro burnt me to a crisp. I still wasn't convinced that this guy liked me.

"You know, War and Lyd?" he said handing me a piece of the orange.

I took it and stuffed it into my mouth, eager to find an excuse for not answering. I chewed on it as long as possible before swallowing. This was going to be one long, miserable day if I didn't figure out how to talk with people.

"Not hungry huh?" Magenta asked skeptically, her lips quirking in a sarcastic smile.

I turned, embarrassed, and saw two boys approaching the table. I recognized one as Zach, wearing dark clothes just as I had seen before, his black shirt had some strange skull design. The other was someone I'd never seen before. Little did I know how well we would become acquainted in the coming days. He was shorter, two or three inches taller than me and definitely Asian…probably Chinese, with slanting dark eyes and smooth ebony hair that was longer than mine, sweeping past his shoulder blades in a loose ponytail. He was dressed in earth toned clothes, a green shirt and dark brown pants, though, his square rimmed glasses were black.

Zach sat next to Warren, the proximity between the pyro and the living lightbulb amused me. Neither of them seemed to mind.

"Stop staring," he finally said annoyed. My eyes snapped up to his as Magenta began laughing, "Just because I lost the stupid bet doesn't mean you all have to look at me like I'm an alien."

"Bet?" I said. The other boy who was yet to be named, sat next to me and smiled, something about him seemed very familiar, but I couldn't quite place what it was. Magenta stared at me incredulously and Warren's fingers paused on his orange slice.

Zach glared at me like I was feigning ignorance and began to open his pop can, "Remember, Magenta's bet…" I looked clueless, and he grew more frustrated, "that I wouldn't ask Layla what the point of recycling is."

"Oh yeah," I said lamely, "So who gave you the shirt?"

All four looked at me like I was crazy. Magenta reached over and put her hand on my forehead, "What's up with you today Lydia, you're acting really strange…don't you remember? You got that for him for his birthday…he said he'd never wear it to school, hence the bet…Could you smack her or something Knight, she's been doing this all day."

Zach bobbed his head not quite knowing what to say and looking quite embarrassed, "I couldn't do it yo, she was like so grumpy looking…and you know what she did to the last guy that asked her if plants were…you know, intelligent," he lowered his head, blue-grey eyes glancing around, "he's still in the hospital," he whispered and then began eating his lunch as if that answered everything.

So if I was getting this right, Zach had not changed his style, the clothes were all just part of a bet that he had made with me. I decided to shut my gaping mouth, all these questions were going to get me in trouble, or at the very least leave me without any friends. Warren was still looking at me strangely but he had returned to eating. I looked around, feeling a slow blush creep up my cheeks. I wondered what excuse could take me away from this situation. "I have to go to the bathroom" wasn't really valid since I had just been there. The weight of the reality of this whole alternate dimension sunk onto my shoulders like so many pounds of lead.

I needed to get away and fast, before I threw up or something worse. The questions pounded in my head and above all, I knew I was helpless to do anything but nod and smile. Who was I in this dimension? How did my dad's disappearance in history or if I dared to think of it…his death, cause all of this? I needed answers that no one seemed able to provide.

"I'm…I have to…I'll be right back," I said in a wavering voice, leaving everything behind as I half ran, half walked towards the school. I heard faintly, the beginning of some argument behind me and then someone coming up behind me. I turned wanting to send them back, expecting it to be Warren but instead it was Night…Knight? His look garnered no questions, he simply lightly grasped my elbow and led me further up into the school, through the hall, and into a barely lit janitor's closet.

There was no logic then, no battle-steeled courage. I didn't know who he was and I didn't care, I just started crying before either of us could speak and found myself clutching at the back of his shirt in a firm embrace. In my mind I was trying to come up with a way to explain this strange outburst but could barely think of anything before his words spilled out.

"Lydia," he said softly patting my back somewhat awkwardly, "It's ok, dad's…your dad's ok."

I guess the words hadn't connected or something because I didn't pull away for another minute. When I did, it was a quick jerking movement like a wounded animal seeking to escape from a predator, his dark eyes bore into my equally dark eyes and in that moment there was some sort of understanding between us. I didn't say anything, I was still waiting for a sign but something told me he wasn't evil.

"Who are you?" he said suddenly, making me even more confused. Didn't he know?

"Lydia, Lydia Tudor..." I muttered hoping this wasn't some strange way to trick me.

"Ok…" he put his hands on my shoulders, "I'm Knight Stevens, your cousin."


	8. Disclosure

Chapter 7.

I began to chuckle nervously; it was a strange, hoarse sound that started in the back of my throat. I was confused and emotional enough to be manic. He moved to the door in case I should try to escape, a precaution that was probably wise. Apparently I was in major trouble with absolutely no idea how to escape. I began to look around as logic took over, hoping for a bottle of some toxic cleaner to appear close by. Instead he just began to talk again.

"Look, Secondhand, I mean Wallace, is my dad…"

"Wait a minute," I held up my hand in front of watery eyes, "If you know who I am and who my father is, why did you ask who I was?"

He fidgeted for a moment, "My mother was a village leader in our province in early China…I was actually born some five hundred years before you."

"That really doesn't answer…"

"I'm not done Lydia," he leaned against a shelf, "My mother was a village leader because of her ability to discern the truth, when Wallace arrived, he and his soldiers burned the village and killed many. They raped many of the women including my mother. She died giving birth to me, but her gift passed on to me. I can tell if someone is lying or telling the truth, so if you aren't Lydia then you're some maniac who's convinced she is Lydia."

His logic befuddled me. How was I supposed to react to this? The story was well thought out if it wasn't the truth. I didn't have his so called ability.

"But there's no way your mother could have had that ability, thousands of years before they discovered the gene pattern for superheroes," I had him there, what could he say?

To my surprise he smiled, "You really don't believe all that mutation junk… "superheroes" have been around since the beginning of time…which by the way, wasn't as long ago as you think. But I digress, the point is, your father and the agency found me and raised me so that Wallace would never be able to use me to his advantage. I also have the ability to notice changes in history like you so when your father disappeared the agency set it up so I'd be here to help you."

"It's one thing to say you have the ability to sense the truth and changes in history, it's another to prove it," I answered, eyes narrowed, "besides how is it that you fit in here at school without a question from anyone?"

"They took me back in time so I'd join Sky High about the same time as you, that way I'd know what was going on here and could help you. Here…" he pulled back his sleeve and the strap of his undershirt to reveal a tattoo, identical to mine that crossed his shoulder.

This was evidence that I couldn't disprove, but still it was hard to accept that he was who he said. I wrapped my arms around my torso, teeth chewing on my lower lip. What was I supposed to do? Knight answered the question by pulling a cell phone out of his back pocket. "Here call the number, Fintan should answer."

"Fintan?" I asked softly flipping open the phone and removing the compact mirror I'd put in my pocket. To be safe I took off my shoe and sock, realizing that dialing the number on his shoulder might be unsafe. One number off could send me plummeting into a trap.

Knight grinned strangely, "I forgot you wouldn't know, Fintan's the head of the agency…the number is his."

"At least some of this is starting to make sense," I muttered, balancing as I dialed the number and then placed my bare foot on the cold floor. I looked at Knight, he was staring intently, and seemingly examining me like a lost relative…I suppose if he was telling the truth, I was. Someone finally picked up on the other line.

"Lydia, you're starting to figure things out but don't get ahead of yourself, there are people here to help you. Trust Knight…"

This all sounded too much like a generic recording to me, "What's your name," I asked wanting to confirm that Knight hadn't pulled the name out of the air.

"Fintan," the low voice answered, "I'll be around, but right now you better get out of the closet and to class before you're late."

The line went dead and then the bell for classes rang. I handed Knight's phone back, "I don't know what to do," I said taking a deep, shaky breath, "I don't even know anything about all of this…but maybe that should wait since the bell just rang," I ended lamely then I stopped as he turned the handle, "Tell me something," I struggled for a statement that no one would know besides me, "Is this valid? My sock drawer in the other dimension also holds a volume of Shakespeare's _Twelfth Night_."

He looked me in the eyes and then opened the door, "True, though you do realize that I have a fifty percent chance of guessing the right answer even if I didn't have this power."

"I guess so," I said, almost completely convinced that Knight was who he said and meant me no harm. If the tattoo hadn't proved it, the phone call had, though like any intelligent person I still examined the possibilities over and over again in my head.

"I'll show you your next class. I told Magenta to bring your stuff in with her. She's in your next period and the one after that, then there's Save-the-Citizen…stay away from that at all costs, it's pretty vicious and you have quite a few enemies in this dimension," he whispered. We exited, me with arms crossed over my stomach. He put his hand on my shoulder and guided me to a doorway not too far away. I was surprisingly relieved to see the familiar head of Mr. Medulla.

"Cheer up," he said softly; pushing me through the door, "you look like a deer caught in the headlights."

I didn't know how to follow his advice. Magenta waved me over to one of the counters, cluttered with things we must have been working on in this class. I saw my purse and backpack on the floor near the empty stool.

"Thanks for bringing my stuff."

"No problem," Maj said snappily, "What is up with you? You and Warren are going to be in another argument before long if you're not careful."

I didn't know why I answered when my tongue felt cemented to the roof of my mouth. I muttered incoherently and watched as different people came into the classroom. I realized suddenly that the class must be open to heroes and sidekicks, I knew my father disappearing wouldn't cause this many people, including Zach to suddenly gain powers. I realized Magenta was slapping my shoulder after it went numb.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Look," I said suddenly, "I don't feel like talking about this…what is with everyone wanting to know about my relationship with Warren anyway?"

I realized I was talking loudly when Mr. Medulla's melon like head came into view, "Because Ms. Tudor, it's a lot more interesting then most subjects in school excluding my class of course. Just be aware that had the final bell rung you would both be receiving an F on this project!" his navel voice made us both wince.

The final bell rang a moment later as if on cue and the teacher headed to the front of the room. Magenta shot me a glare that I ignored, hoping she wouldn't be averse to explaining exactly what we were doing in this class. She ended up doing most of the project as I proved unable to concentrate on the task at hand. I had so many unanswered questions, but somehow everything seemed better with the realization that I wasn't the only one going up against my uncle.

If Knight could be trusted.

My suspicions were lessening, but my nature ensured that I'd never be completely convinced by what anyone told me. Something told me that even when this was all over I'd have a hard time believing even my father. There seemed to be so much that he hadn't told me. Of course for now I was just worried about the fact that I might not see him again. Magenta squealed as the chemicals in the vials turned orange. I'd never thought she'd be one to get excited over school work

She shrugged at my look, "I think this means we get an A," she whispered as Mr. Medulla came over to see what we'd… what she'd accomplished. The rest of the class went quickly and then we were off to our next class "Villains: Stratagems and Ploys" with the same orange-eyed teacher I had earlier in the day. I was noticing that many of the teachers taught several different classes, it probably had something to do with the obviously low budget of the school. Besides the dirty halls and graffiti decorated outer walls, the students themselves all looked more guarded…this atmosphere had enough force to turn even the happiest person into a pessimist.

We were about to pass Layla and a group of her friends when they changed their course to step in front of us. Magenta rolled her eyes and put her hands on her waist.

"Move," Layla said simply, green eyes snapping with untold vehemence. I met her gaze levelly, wondering what exactly had happened to her. She rolled her eyes and shoved past me as the rest of the student body seemed to pour past me as well. I stood still following her red hair until she disappeared into a classroom.

"I'd say something nasty but it'd be pretty pointless now," Magenta said pushing her black hair back behind her shoulder, "Come on, we've really got to get to class."

The halls were emptying and I nodded partially before we were both startled by a deep voice nearby, "So you and Peace doing Save the Citizen today?" Will asked, looking down at me with a strange expression of mixed anger and amusement.

Magenta's face quickly changed mode, before it'd just been sarcastic but now it seemed as if she was truly afraid of the boy that stood next to them, "No," I answered quietly, meeting his eyes curiously. I didn't know what had happened between us but there seemed sudden tension radiating from all of us, "Excuse us but we have to get to class."

"I'm glad to hear you aren't…wouldn't want you to get hurt Pause," and with that he walked away leaving Maj looking like she wanted to fly at him with both fists. She grabbed my hand before I could reply and we entered the classroom just as the bell rang. We sat down in the back row, but I wasn't able to concentrate on anything she said because Magenta was berating me in low tones.

"We told you not to talk to him Lydia, you've got to stop this," she was as sincere as I'd ever seen her, in either dimension.

"Why?" I asked simply, hoping that simple question wouldn't elicit another tirade on my memory loss. I ran a hand through my unruly mane and waited for an answer.

Magenta's face took on a red shade as she slammed a hand down on her desk, "Why?" she replied in a hoarse whisper, "Why? Why do you think dimwit! Maybe the fact that he tried to kill you after you guys broke up…maybe the lack of oxygen to your brain when he was _strangling_ you, killed off any common sense you might have had!"

Needless to say, I was completely dumbfounded. When Knight said I had enemies, I hadn't thought real breathing _enemies_. Magenta blinked rapidly and I tried to persuade myself that there weren't real tears in her eyes. Boy, did I have a lot of questions for my newfound cousin once I saw him again. With any luck he'd be able to provide me with a detailed history that wouldn't leave me reeling at the implications. Something bigger had happened when my dad had disappeared…something much bigger than I could imagine.


	9. Bruises

Chapter 8.

The gym at Sky High was in need of more than a revamp, everything in it needed to be gutted and brought to a radioactive dump. The bleacher I was sitting on had once been a dull orange, but now it was so dirty that I doubted it had ever been anything other than a dark gray. I tried to remember to keep my hands off it, afraid that I might contract some fatal and little-known disease. The bleachers were still fenced in by a circle of plastic panels that would prevent injury to the crowd. After the perimeter the similarities to my dimension stopped.

The equipment that littered the old wooden floor of the gymnasium gave the whole arena a gladiator aura. There was a bin of weapons in one corner, securely locked and poised on a sheer metal platform. I assumed that the point was to break in and take as many as you could to help in the battle. In the middle, the familiar citizen, complete with yellow pigtails, hung from a rope over a vat of roiling green chemicals. Some sort of dangerous acid I would assume…though where this school fit that into their budget I didn't know.

There were several other obstacles littering the floor, hills and tunnels made presumably of some invulnerable material. I wondered how they could afford all the equipment and not a decent janitorial service. Sighing, I watched as a gym teacher, dressed in warm-up pants and a sweatshirt entered and climbed up to her raised seat. She looked down at her list as several people began whispering amongst themselves.

I looked to Warren who was sitting next to me, brooding, perhaps about the fact that I had talked to Will. Magenta had betrayed her post as my friend and ratted me out as soon as we had sat next down to the pyro. He hadn't reacted in the typical hothead fashion; instead he'd just proceeded to ignore me. I had thought that would be a relief, but somehow I found myself slightly miffed at his behavior. I tucked my short hair behind my ears for the third time in five minutes, almost every strand escaped immediately after.

A whistle blew shrilly, startling almost everyone and silencing the chatter promptly. The middle-aged woman who had replaced Coach Boomer in this dimension smiled grimly and shouted out her orders like a drill sergeant, "Stronghold, Chloris get down there, Tudor and Peace you'll be the heroes."

Warren gave me a glance that said, I'd see exactly why they didn't want me around Will, and got up. Surprisingly he reached out a hand and pulled me up alongside him, trying, I thought, to look away as he did it. The talk had started up again and as we quick changed and entered the arena, I heard Mr. Medulla and someone else exchanging bets above us, "Yes I suggested the match, should be quite entertaining," the melon-head man said with a nasal laugh.

I rolled my eyes and tried to think of what I could do since I had very little experience in doing well at this game. It seemed that only a couple days ago I'd first participated in Save-the-Citizen with Layla and Warren…this time the situation was drastically changed. The expressions on our opponents' faces were anything but friendly towards each other or towards us. My partner turned towards me as his hands lit on fire, the red highlights in his hair glowed slightly in the eerie light.

"Pause and go for the citizen, I'll handle the villains."

I nodded, thinking the plan sounded simple enough, except for the fact that I had no idea how save the overlarge doll without burning myself in the green broth below. Maybe I could find something in the bin of weapons, but there was no time to think, the whistle blew and I looked at the timer, only to discover the matches lasted ten minutes in this reality. Warren charged ahead, fireballs already decimating a few plants that Layla had sent towards us.

I ran to the nearest corner, the one with the weapons and paused time, hoping the extra years at this school had given me more control over my power. I knew it had worked immediately because of the silence. The sheer metal face of the platform was daunting but there was a fake hill nearby. I pushed it as hard as I could and found it would budge. Straining I brought it close enough to the metal platform and took a deep breath before sprinting up it. With a whoop I jumped and landed on the edge of the platform.

That small moment of physical exertion broke my control over time immediately. A vine pierced the wall directly behind where I had been and then fell. I ignored the buzzing in my head as I examined the lock. I wouldn't be able to break it, but within the bars stood a long plank of metal that I might be able to use to bridge the hole. I turned and watched as a fireball sent Will careening down from his flight.

"War! A little help here?!" I yelled. He turned as I gestured wildly towards the lock. That small distraction gave Layla the advantage and she took it.

The pyro was pushed violently into a wall by a leafy branch. Will and Layla smiled in unison as he slumped to the floor. I knew he wouldn't go down by just one hit, but both of the villains were headed towards me now. Warren stumbled to his feet and lit up again as Will swooped towards me. I jumped off the platform and tumbled down the hill, an idea come to life in my mind. If the equipment was invulnerable then it wouldn't be hurt by chemicals.

I paused time just as Stronghold's arms reached out to grab me. One second in that embrace could be fatal. Half-running, half-tripping, sweat dripping off my forehead as my headache grew worse; I began pushing at another hill near the citizen. It barely budged and I grit my teeth in determination. The grip on time began slackening as I moved it a foot and then a yard. Things were starting to move before I could push it close enough to the citizen.

My frustrated growl was cut short by a warning shout from Warren. A vine hit me in the stomach as Layla grinned. Air knocked out, I hit the ground and tried to breathe as the coppery taste of blood emerged in my mouth. Will was swooping closer now, but Warren had realized what I was trying to do and began helping me to push the fake terrain. "That's close enough!" I shouted and ran back to the other side as Will plummeted towards us.

I knew that I didn't have the strength to pause time again so I started running up the hill, towards the hanging citizen. A fireball whizzed past my head and hit the rope. The citizen landed on the pad and rolled down towards me. I tripped over her rag doll body and expected to fall. Unfortunately I was caught mid-step by Stronghold. His hand grasped at my arm and wrenched it nearly from its socket, sending me hurtling into a wall. The timer rang and the citizen was safe but the impact of my body against the solid material sent me crashing into black oblivion.

000000000

I resurfaced into the present with startled gasps for air. It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over my head. As I opened my eyes and looked down I realized it had. Funny thing was the water was green. I realized with a laugh that the "chemical" was actually colored water. The gym teacher looked grim as I began to splutter and laugh. She put down the bucket she had been holding and held up her right hand, six fingers outstretched.

"How many fingers?" she asked with a light voice that seemed strange for her muscular figure.

I screwed up my eyes and then opened them again, still six fingers, "Uh you have six fingers on your right hand…" forcing my bruised face muscles into a smile I continued quietly, "Someone was looking for you."

"Very funny, like I haven't heard that one before," she rolled her blue eyes and backed away muttering, "Stupid movie."

I sat up ungracefully as my head swam and gently tried to flex all my muscles. Amazingly enough I hadn't broken anything, Stronghold must have been having an off day. Warren, Magenta and Zach stood above me, each face uniquely expressing worry. Warren reached out a hand and helped me off the ground. The gym was empty of students; this meant we all must be late for the buses. Then I remembered we didn't have buses at Sky High, in fact I'd have to drive home in this condition.

"Are you ok?" Maj asked, voice holding an edge I didn't recognize.

"Yeah I…hey!" I squealed as she pushed me back down onto the ground.

"Good, because you could have been killed."

Zach pulled me up with an apologetic smile as Magenta turned her back and strode away, "It's not like I asked for this! I didn't even do anything, it's not my fault Stronghold's a maniac!"

She turned around and walked back, eyebrows still drawn together in anger, "Yeah well, just don't be doing anything like that again."

"Ok," I agreed meekly, hoping I'd be back to my own dimension before I'd have to deal with Save-the-Citizen again.

"That was an awesome round Maj, you have to admit!" Zach said, his voice dripping with reverence, "I can't remember the last time the heroes won."

"Two weeks ago light bulb," Warren said suddenly his lip quirked in something resembling a smile. I realized how nice it was to see that expression.

My legs groaned in protest with each step I took, but I forced them forward and somehow stumbled out to the parking lot with the others. Almost everyone was out here now, socializing and being reprimanded by teachers. Magenta and Zach broke off and I waved goodbye as they left. I continued towards my car with Warren beside me. The uncomfortable silence that was becoming commonplace made me wince inwardly. I wondered how in this dimension Lydia had dealt with it.

It wasn't as if I couldn't see the attraction, he was tall, handsome, mysterious and seemed to be a pretty loyal friend…but how had we got past stupid arguments and seen the good in each other? It was a mystery I hoped to solve before I returned. Thinking about returning just sent my thoughts tumbling back towards my father. As soon as I was alone it'd be time to call the number…or more accurately Fintan, again. I hoped this school day hadn't been merely a ploy to distract me from the real goal.

We stopped at my beat-up vehicle and I unlocked the door. Warren reached past me and opened the door in a strange display of gentlemanly manners. I hoped he wasn't expecting a goodbye kiss because the thought scared me. Though, a small part of me wondered what it'd be like. I'd never been kissed, unless a sloppy smooch when I was in sixth grade counted. He nodded once, as if that meant bye and then turned to walk away. If ever I was to understand him I'd have to become an expert in reading body language.

I sat down in the driver's seat after shoving my things in and grasped the steering wheel. That's when I noticed the figure in my back seat and almost screamed. Knight leaned forward with a bemused look on his face.

"You know you really should make sure all your doors are locked, this parking lot isn't exactly the safest place to leave a car."

"What are you doing?"

"Uh, I thought you'd have some questions. Our conversation earlier wasn't exactly detailed."

"True," I responded, "So…I don't know where to start, how about everything?"

"Everything?" he sounded confused.

"You know, me and Will, me and Warren, me and Layla…"

"Ok, ok," he held up his hands stopping the forthcoming tirade, "I'm going to try to make this as simple as possible, but it's a long story."

"We have time, I'd rather not pull out until the parking lot is at least partially empty…I don't really know how to drive that well."


	10. History and Hysterics

Chapter 9.

"Well I suppose I should start sophomore year," Knight began looking nervous as he flicked his black ponytail behind his shoulder, "We were both new, and I had just been sent back in history to observe and help you when you actually appeared today."

"Let's skip the confusing time stuff; it's bad enough having to survive in an alternate dimension without lectures on the time/space continuum."

"Good point, uh…ok so our sophomore year. That summer Will's mom was killed."

"Jetstream died?"

"Yeah, she was hit by a train actually…after a villain tied her up…what is it?"

I smiled with sudden inspiration, "I know now…why would Jetstream die in this dimension and not the other, there has to be some connection. What if my father saved her in the other reality but was killed in this one before that could happen. Don't you see? We have a timeframe now; we know it had to be before the summer of our sophomore year."

"Yeah, it's still a pretty broad range though…and he might not have saved her in the other reality, he might have saved someone else who in turn saved her…or captured the villain who was responsible for her death."

I thought for a moment, but his words still couldn't dampen my spirits, finally I had a lead, "Keep talking."

"In a nutshell, Will was obviously deeply affected by his mom's death and he withdrew from his friends. He became more violent, rude…less of a hero I guess you could say," Knight paused and adjusted his glasses, "And he stopped hanging out with his group, broke up with Layla and noticed you."

"So that's when we went out."

"Yeah, he was quite the charmer, but his bad temper became more obvious after you'd both dated for a while. Meanwhile Layla…extremely hurt, directed her anger at you."

"So that explains the whole nasty attitude."

He laughed, "At least partially. Will started getting more violent and you kinda withdrew. You guys didn't break up yet but you started to talk about the situation with your lab partner…"

"Let me guess, Warren?" I said in a sickly sweet voice. This was all too much of a soap opera for me to believe.

"No," he looked amused, "Magenta. She, Warren and Zach had started eating lunch together after the group broke up. Ethan left the school midway through sophomore year and Layla began dating a string of boys, so they were the last remnant left. I started eating with them also, after you began dating Stronghold. Magenta told you straight out to dump him but you weren't one for listening…you didn't break up until after he'd nearly killed you."

"So why did he want to kill me?"

"Why does any villain murder? This time it was jealousy, he found out about your conversations with Magenta and got a little possessive. You tried to tell him off but he went wacko and attacked you. Fortunately it was on school grounds so we stopped him before…you know."

"Wow…hard to imagine Will doing anything like that."

"I suppose, though living through it helps you to understand…and I didn't know him before so…Anyway, you started eating with us; that was at the beginning of junior year. You and Warren started dating "officially" about three weeks ago, I think, during the summer."

"Things are so different" I said almost to myself, "And most of these changes revolve around Will and ultimately his mom dying…"

"It has to have some connection," Knight conceded, nodding, "We'll have to tell Fintan about this when we meet up."

"Thanks Knight," I said softly watching my cousin's face, realizing that he had sacrificed two and half years just to help me and ultimately my father. I knew that he must want to find my dad just as much as I did…hadn't he been just as much a father to him as he was to me? I wanted to hug him but it felt too awkward. He nodded and exited the car.

"So now you know…Fintan should find you soon, we'll need to start planning the rescue," then he left, shutting the door behind him.

I rolled down my window, "Hey Knight, this may sound strange but could you tell me how to get back to my house…I'm not sure I remember."

He leaned down, dark eyes looking amused, "Sure."

A moment later I turned the key in the ignition and buckled my seatbelt. I waved my hand at my cousin and rolled the window back up. He looked back with the same thin-lipped smile he'd worn before. I wondered how he could deal with all of this so calmly. Now all I had to do was go home to a psycho and meet up with the head of a secret agency. Just a normal to-do list, wouldn't you say?

000000000

The house was relatively quiet when I got home. My uncle was sprawled over one of the navy-blue couches in the living room, his snoring bordering on obnoxious. Something like the cross between a hippo and a snake hiss. There was a note on the kitchen counter, I took it off and tried to decipher the scrawled writing after I set all my stuff down on the floor.

Lydia,

Take the garbage out

Finish the dishes

Start dinner

Dad

Ok, so now I was the maid? What had he done all day? Slept on the couch likely as not and planned some more evil villain plots. I carried my stuff to my room and set it down on the floor. The reflection of my face in the mirror caught my attention. I definitely wasn't looking my best today. The worry and stress had taken its toll and left me looking pale. Of course it just might have been the developing bruise that shaded my cheek. I touched my cheekbone gently and grimaced at the pain, it would be a nice one.

I might as well start on the list, apparently in this reality my job was to take care of the house while my "father" slept. Maybe this meant he had a nightshift at his job, than I could investigate the house without any further restrictions. Though, the thought of hidden cameras made the exhilaration of that idea fall short. Time to play my part as the faithful daughter and do the dishes, hopefully he was a sound sleeper.

First I had a phone call to make; I reminded myself, bringing out the cell phone again and swiftly dialing the now memorized number. It rang several times, as I had expected, before the familiar voice answered on the other end, "We'll meet tonight, after he leaves, eight o'clock in the bushes past the fence of your backyard." Then the line went dead, not enough time to ask anything.

I sighed and slipped off my shoes. Well then, dishes it was.

I didn't have to wait long to find that my uncle was not a sound sleeper. He got off of the couch with a grunt and came into the kitchen where I was loading the dishwasher, rubbing his head as walked towards the fridge. He opened the door and pulled out the container of orange juice. His motor skills must have been impaired by something, alcohol perhaps, because he tripped over the tied up garbage and cursed as he dropped the bottle onto the floor. It promptly let out its contents onto the wood floor.

My onyx eyes shut tightly at the explicative, body tensed as he rose seething from the floor. I wiped my sudsy hands on my jeans, "Sorry 'bout that," I said quietly knowing full well it wasn't my fault.

"Sorry? Didn't I tell you to take the garbage out…was it really that hard to follow my instructions? They were even written out this time!" his voice grew louder as he threw the now empty container into the sink.

"Yeah…I mean no, I mean I'm sorry. I was going to take out the garbage after I finished the dishes."

"Well if you'd just done it like I wrote this wouldn't have happened! I've got to go to work in a couple minutes and now there's a huge mess to clean up. You're grounded!" he shouted.

I could have laughed if he hadn't looked so much like my father, the idea of my dad yelling like this made my eyes fill with unshed tears. How did this man think he could ever imitate my father? He was grounding me for what? For cleaning up his mess, for his hangover? I didn't say anything, that would only make the situation worse but my clenched fists shook slightly with the effort to withhold the torrent of questions and emotions. My uncle glared and turned, "You'll clean up this mess."

I ignored him and wrung out a rag from the sink, apparently the storm hadn't ceased because a moment later he was back in the kitchen in clean clothes, "Where's my dinner? You know I have to leave, you were supposed to put the pizza in the oven when you got home. One simple thing Lydia, that's all I ask you to do and you can't even do that right!"

I tried not to cry as I scrubbed, this wasn't my father, why did all of these words matter? The doorbell rang and he looked to it with a vicious snarl. The expression was erased in a moment and he was once again an imitation of a stern in-control parent, "We're not done talking about this, I have to go to work, but I want you to think about what I said."

Sure I'd think about it. I'd think about how glad I was that he was going to jail as soon as we saved my real father. I'd think about the pretty picture he'd make in a jumpsuit and power-draining handcuffs. I scrubbed the floor harder and then got up to rinse the rag out as my uncle answered the door. I looked back wrapping an arm around my stomach, everything felt coiled and tight like I was about to throw up. That would help the situation so much…if he didn't want a messy house then he definitely wouldn't want my puke all over the ground.

The door opened and I could see my uncle's back relax slightly as he greeted the person.

"Hey Warren come on in, I was just leaving for work," my uncle turned back to me I came out from the kitchen and as the tall pyro stepped through the door, "Lydia, did you remember to fill up the car hun?" I was appalled by the change in his voice.

"Yeah, the tank's full," I answered quietly.

"Good," he replied tightly, he patted Warren on the back ignoring the brooding gaze and left the house whistling. The door shut sealing me in the strange house with a solemn pyromaniac. At least he'd forgotten about my "grounding".

"So," I said, hoping for a more lucid reply then a grunt.

"Was that why you were acting like an idiot at school?" he asked bluntly.

"Uh…" it wouldn't exactly be lying for me to say yes would it?

"Come on, let's go for a walk," he said opening the door just in time to see my little car speed off with my uncle waving from the driver's seat.

"We could just stay here," I said not really feeling like walking in the foggy dampness that had come with early evening.

"I don't feel comfortable with us staying in the house alone while your dad's gone," he said with finality and picked up my coat from its position draped over the nearby couch. He held it out and I stared at it dumbfounded. I put my arms back through the sleeves wondering how the heck Warren had changed so much…or maybe it was just a side of him no one ever saw. Even so chivalry was not a word I'd normally associate with him.

**AN: Thanks to everyone for the reviews, it's great to get some positive feedback for this story. Hopefully this chapter cleared up some things for you guys.**

**To my anonymous reviewers for the past couple of chapters: LaLaLa, you are always such an encouragement to me, thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to review!**

**Smokey, thanks for your review, I hope you keep reading!**


	11. Walk and Talk

Chapter 10.

We walked outside after I'd retrieved the house key and locked the door. Maybe talking to Warren would give me some insight about everything that had happened between us. The weather was getting colder and I was grateful for the coat, even so it was uncomfortable walking hand in hand with someone who had been, if not a complete stranger, a complete mystery to me days before.

He didn't say anything else until we were a few blocks away, at a little run down park, empty of any little denizens. An old man walked past, a large mutt in tow. I genuinely smiled for the first time that day and watched as the large animal passed us, straining at the leash. I actually didn't mind the sparse fall of rain and the clouds, somehow the air seemed a lot better out here then it had all week. I breathed in deeply, enjoying and wondering how Warren had known that I'd needed it.

My heart rate actually resembled normal when he motioned to a bench and we sat. The cold from the seat seeped through my pants and I shivered slightly. He turned to look at me and in all seriousness began to speak. "So spill it Lyd and don't leave anything out…"

Lying to his face seemed really sleazy so I was silent, trying to think of something I could tell him, "I don't know…Dad's been really peevish lately, I just don't know what he wants from me…"

"Short from your soul?"

"In writing…" I added, glad that I was given such a wonderful father compared to my uncle, "He's a villain," I said softly.

Warren looked as if he was going to smile, believing I was still jesting but the tone of voice caught his ear. His grip on my hand tightened. If anyone knew about having a villain for a father it would be Warren Peace, and he knew that I wasn't joking. Suddenly I knew for one reason or another I had to tell him…all of it. He deserved to know, and once history was changed back I'd feel better about not deceiving him. Besides, above all there was this gut feeling that bordered on fate, I was meant to tell him.

"I have something to tell you that might be hard to believe."

"Harder than believing you're actually the daughter of Queen Elizabeth?"

I was shocked that I had told him that, since I'd never ventured to tell anyone else…of course I'd never dated before this either, "Yeah, harder than that…Something's happened and I'm not quite sure how to explain it…that man we talked to at my house, he's not my dad, he's my uncle, pretending to be my dad."

Warren half-smirked but caught himself before it could turn into a full fledged smile. At least he was trying to be understanding, but what I was saying wasn't easy to handle, "I don't know, he seemed like the same jerk I'd met before."

"What if I told you that my dad had an evil twin brother…?" I paused, "Never mind don't answer that…The point is, my dad does have an evil twin brother and they both have the same power, chronokinesis. They can travel through time, usually only along their own lifetime but sometimes even farther back."

"Like when you were born."

"Yeah, the problem is my uncle is a crazy villain and he has it out for my dad because he betrayed him."

"Your uncle betrayed your father?"

"No my dad betrayed my father by turning him in to the authorities. A couple days ago my uncle escaped from prison and captured or killed my dad," I looked up and brushed a strand of red hair from my eyes. I wanted to make sure he was following all of this.

"So he's been pretending to be your dad for a couple of days because…"

"Not a couple of days…years, in fact if what I've figured out is right probably two or more years, ever since before sophomore year…" my tone grew excited, "Look, my uncle can travel through time, so when he escapes he doesn't mosey on down to the nearest directory to find his brother…he just travels back in time to some event that he knows my dad was at and messes with history to…you know."

"Get rid of him."

"Yeah so, then he buys some contacts, figures out where we're living and comes to the house pretending to be my dad so that the authorities won't be able to track him, see only a few people are able to detect changes in history, the rest wouldn't notice the difference in the present they'd just suddenly be living in an alternate dimension with no memories of the real one."

"So you lived with him for years and didn't notice until today?"

"No…I don't know how to explain this other than to say, I was born with the ability to notice changes. So when I woke this morning everything was different…you can't imagine how much everything's changed…but my uncle doesn't know I have that ability, so he thinks I've just been living for the past years like everyone else, thinking he's my dad."

Warren let go of my hand and played with the fringe of one of his red pieces of hair. I looked up trying to think of some way to make him understand what had happened to me. Without some understanding of time and its intricacies that seemed nearly impossible.

"So what was different…I mean your dad's death couldn't have affected that much, especially when no one knew about it."

I turned my head to the side, intent on examining the slide that towered a little ways away. When I looked back I knew he'd be staring, waiting for an answer. Surprisingly, he wasn't staring at me, he was just as eager to look away. It was almost as if he knew my answer and didn't want to hear it.

"Well…for one thing Stronghold is a total hero, Layla's the nicest person you'd ever meet and Magenta isn't so hard-core…Sky High is actually in the sky and we get there by rocket propulsion buses."

"Seriously Lyd."

"I'm being dead serious. I think it has something to do with Jetstream…she's not dead in my dimension."

"What about me?"

"You haven't changed…well except for the fact that you don't hate my guts here, but wait does that mean you actually believe me?"

He turned his head and nudged me with his shoulder, "Of course I believe you…why wouldn't I? Why do I hate you?" he said taking my hand again and standing up.

"I insulted your comic books."

"Ah, well that sucks."

I chuckled lightly, detecting the undertone of seriousness that pervaded his words. He knew but he didn't want to ask. "So when we fix all of this?"

"You get Stronghold for a best friend," I said cheerfully trying to distract him.

"Yeah, but you and I…we."

"There's no we," I said flatly and then regretted it, "I'll try Warren, I swear if I can ever get back there I'll try and do something."

His jaw clenched and unclenched, "You better," he said gruffly, "I just can't believe I wouldn't remember any of it…that you don't remember any of it."

"I wasted time, and now doth time waste me…" I said softly, wondering why I always thought of Shakespeare.

"Is that Shakespeare or something?"

"Or something…" I answered leaning my head on his shoulder as we walked. There weren't words to describe that moment. The moment I realized I wanted to fight injustice for the rest of my life. I had always planned on hiding my powers and making a normal life after I graduated from high school. But now, with this person walking beside me, a person with feelings who would be taken advantage of because of the powers of a sick villain…I wanted to save Warren the pain but knew I couldn't…he would forget it soon enough when things were made right.

Who knew a twenty minute walk could reveal so much?

"So how do we fix it?" he asked, voice gravelly, as we walked back to my house.

It finally hit me, how easily he had taken the news. How much he trusted me and the desire to help me, even if it meant changing life as he knew it. I found myself wishing that I had tried to know him better, wishing I had the same relationship with him in my dimension.

"I don't know," I answered, mulling over the futile situation. "I know this all has something to do with Jetstream's death…Maybe my father saved her in the real dimension and she in turn saved someone who helped create the real, floating Sky High. Maybe Secondhand killed my father when he was supposed to save Jetstream."

"There's no way to find out for sure?"

"Not that I can think of, I've been running everything through my brain, trying to dig up something that my father said that had to do with this…He always told me what I should do in certain situations…"

Warren smirked and pulled a strand of my hair playfully, "He couldn't have thought of everything. I'm pretty sure he wasn't expecting anything as complicated as this."

"Who would?"

000000000

It was eight o'clock exactly. I opened the back door quietly, knowing that nobody would hear it anyway. Our house was kind of secluded, with a lot of open space beyond the backyard. My "father" had, as I had suspected, the night shift wherever he worked and would be gone. I peered beyond the fence when I reached it, reluctant to climb over it in the dark. Steeling myself I jumped and caught hold of the top of the wooden fence.

I ignored the minuscule jabs of splinters and vaulted over onto the wild grass on the other side. I shivered involuntarily because, after all, it was getting chilly and I was alone with a mysterious secret agent hidden somewhere close by. I looked to where the tall bushes were located: the perfect place to hide. Peering deeper into their shelter, I stepped forward just as another figure appeared from amongst them. He was tall, at least six foot with sunglasses covering any emotion that might have been read in his eyes.

Even though it was dark I could see that he had red hair, and a complexion not unlike my own. I immediately recognized him as the man who had so often appeared to be spying on me; the man Knight had called Fintan. He beckoned me forward with a finger and we stopped under the protection of the leafy shrubbery. I was nervous, hoping that this was indeed the man I was supposed to meet, and that he, as I suspected, was on my side.

Once shielded by any curious eyes amongst the foliage, he took off his sunglasses, it was too dark to tell what color his eyes were, "I hope you didn't have too much trouble coming."

"No, just a couple splinters."

"Good. It's time we talked about rescuing your father. Your uncle will know something is up if he sees me around...I've had the unfortunate opportunity of meeting him face to face, and we can't risk Knight's identity being revealed after we've done so much to protect him. That leaves the majority of the responsibility up to you."

"Warren might help," I said before thinking and then hoped the agent wouldn't take the words badly.

A grim twist of his lips turned into a familiar smile. Where had I seen that smile before? "You told him," he said after a moment of silence, "I suppose it's for the best, though I'd advise you not to get emotionally involved with him, once things are fixed…nothing will be the same."

"I understand, but I can hardly help it," I looked at my feet, "He wants to help, even after realizing that we won't be together, after realizing I don't even remember us having any sort of attachment. That's loyalty that comes from something deeper than a casual acquaintance."

"Don't let it go to your head Lydia. He's a born hero, it's in his nature. Nonetheless, his help will be useful, but I want you to secure the alliance of another student as well, someone who is intimately involved in all of this… Will Stronghold."

**AN: I guess my warning last chapter turned more people away then I guessed. If you're still reading this story I'd like to know what you think, reviews are very helpful to any writer. Thanks for cooperation and patience in the updates!**


	12. Picture Perfect

Chapter 11.

I rubbed my shoulder, massaging each muscle with a pained grimace on my face. Maybe I was self-abusive at heart, but when something was hurt I was constantly touching it, feeling the pain again. When I'd had my braces, I'd clench my teeth after each tightening, just to feel how sore my gums felt. Maybe that had some significance in real life as well. Here I was, having just been thrown into a wall by the Will the day before, wanting to talk with him about a topic that could very well send him plummeting out of control.

Warren's dark eyes flashed as he took my hand. The grip was painful, and Will looked at us with something bordering on amusement. Apparently he'd gotten over his jealously long ago, because I saw little, if any in his glance. He had agreed to talk with us at lunch; we had stipulated that we'd talk in the crowded lunch room where teachers kept a close eye on everything that happened. I had related part of the plan to Warren that morning, but now, everything hinged on Will's willingness to help.

I told the story without emotion, pausing every time I thought somebody else might be listening. At the mention of his mother, and the chance at bringing her back, Stronghold's eyes sparked and almost ignited into rage. He kept it in check, though I noticed his hands tightened on the table, creating permanent indents in the plastic material. If we couldn't persuade him of the verity of my tale, capturing my uncle would be quite hard. I wondered why Fintan hadn't come up with something that didn't rely so heavily on this boy.

Knight had been informed and was getting things ready in the background, he and Fintan were to talk to Principal Powers that morning and secure her compliance.

"So that's that…" I finished disentangling my hand from Warren's, "You both should know that I wouldn't try to change things if my dad had just died in a car accident or something remotely normal…but my uncle's completely twisted the future and we can't let him get away with that."

"I really couldn't care less about all of this," Will replied, folding his hands and cracking each knuckle, a habit I found repulsing, "But if this bastard caused my mom's death, then I'm more than happy to help. Just tell me what I have to do."

I didn't bother to explain to Will that he'd be a completely different person once everything was set to rights. That might only discourage him, as he seemed rather fond of his newfound villainy. Instead I told him he'd get his mom back…which he would, if our presumptions were right. Sad thing was, even if he didn't get his mom back he wouldn't remember, history would be changed the moment we saved my father and neither Warren nor Will would remember anything about this dimension. I felt dishonest with such a bargain, but the world was a better place without a future Stronghold super-villain.

"All you have to do, is get in a fight with us, before lunch ends…a fight big enough to get all three of us in the detention room," I said, knowing that this request would please him.

"One thing Stronghold," Warren said as he stood and removed his leather jacket. He was wearing his sleeveless phoenix shirt. Several heads snapped towards him suddenly and the cafeteria quieted slightly. I saw the gym teacher was already headed towards us.

"What's that hothead?"

"We _all_ have to be conscious when we get to the detention room."

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you guys," he laughed and rose a foot off the ground. A fireball singed his shirt as he grabbed Warren's, "This is one of my favorite shirts," he said with a smile and heaved Warren across the cafeteria and into a wall.

"Déjà vu," I said with a smirk and placed a well-aimed kick at Will before he took to the air. His body promptly came back down as another fireball sent him sprawling onto the table at which we had just been talking. A fountain of chocolate milk went up into the air from an abandoned container. For one reason or another I smiled, this was one incident that I'd never be able to redo in my dimension…might as well take advantage of the moment.

Will's eyes filled with genuine anger as he clenched his teeth against the burning pain that had overcome his shoulder. The flame went out in a moment, but red skin revealed an extensive burn. Stronghold glanced at me and suddenly I was flying through the air, held only by my ankle. He dragged me beneath him as he flew and I struggled to avoid knocking heads with students who were watching either dumbfounded or amused. My red hair trailed in a student's spaghetti and I tried to apologize before dropping face first into another tray.

This was beginning to tick me off. Unfortunately I didn't have much time for a reaction because the gym teacher had regained control of the situation. I found I couldn't move. Staring ahead I saw she had frozen Will and Warren as well, both faces humorously locked in ridiculous expressions of rage as they faced each other atop an overturned table. Suddenly we were all floating towards the irate teacher, her six-fingered hand outstretched. I wondered suddenly, what her name was, and how she'd come to work here and not in the other Sky High.

"Stronghold, Peace, Tudor, Detention room now," but instead of releasing us she floated us in our frozen states to the room and saw that the door was locked herself. We were all unfrozen the moment she left. I put a hand to my sauce-covered face and picked a noodle or two out of my hair.

The white room was the one place in the whole school that appeared to be completely unchanged. If anything the desks inside were slightly grungier, but everything else was exactly the same, at least from the descriptions I had heard. I'd never actually been in the room before. Warren and I sat on one side and Will sat a few desks down. My boyfriend, wait since when had I called him that? Warren was gently rubbing his bruised cheek, his lip was cracked and bleeding, out of all of us he looked the worst and I knew that was no coincidence by the smug look on Will's face.

Both boys were looking at me like I was the most amusing thing they'd ever seen, "Hey, neither of you are very pretty right now either," I muttered, flinging a piece of meatball on the white floor. In a moment all three of us were cackling like a trio of cellmates at an asylum. The white walls only added to the effect.

I stopped laughing and took off my hoodie; glad I was wearing a long sleeve shirt underneath and could afford the loss in the chilly room. It was a shame to stain the material but I was more concerned about my current condition. I rubbed my face and hair vigorously and reemerged. "Is that better," I asked Warren as I turned the piece of clothing inside out so I wouldn't mistakenly get the sauce all over something.

"Well," he sounded as if he was weighing out what to say in his head, "yeah it's better than before. You still have a couple noodles in your hair though," he smirked and reached over to pull out the offending items.

"Aw, how cute, watch as the idiots groom each other," Will piped up from the other side of the room. His slicked back hair gleamed dully in the room as he spoke with a high-pitched voice.

I didn't say anything, but wondered how I'd deal with the jerk much longer. We still had a bit of time left before my "father" would arrive. Principal Powers would call him as soon as we were admitted into detention and would be told to pick me up at the school within the hour, under the pretense of a suspension. I sighed and put my head on the desktop, glancing furtively at Warren as he reached over to grab yet another missed piece of pasta. I smiled at him and he smiled back, a genuine one this time. His glance moved to my neck.

"I made that for you," he said pointing to the necklace with the punched out hourglass charm. He understood now that I didn't remember anything about our former relationship.

"Thanks," I replied, meaning the gratitude for much more than just the necklace.

"Aw, how cute, watch the idiots…"

"Shut up Stronghold," we said in unison.

"Not that watching you both isn't interesting, but when were you planning on telling me the rest of the plan?"

"As soon as…" I was interrupted by the intercom.

Principal Powers' voice came over the speaker that was located in the corner of the room next to the door, "Your father has entered the parking lot," and then her voice and the crackling that accompanied it faded out.

"Ok, you guys need to stand on either side of the doorway; I'll sit in the middle so he'll see me. Don't attack him until the door closes. When it does, disable him as quickly as possible, Fintan and Knight will help us out after that."

The boys, Will notably silent for once, quickly took their positions and I slid over a seat, so I was directly in the middle and across from the door. My heart rate accelerated a notch as we all heard the familiar tapping sound of a woman's high-heeled shoes and the flat noise of a man's. It would be only a moment and then he'd come in, I tried to take a deep, calming breath but all I managed was a short catch of breath before my uncle's face became visible in the window of the door.

The entry hissed open and he remained a moment in the hall, talking with Principal Powers, who did not seem the least bit nervous. She was a wonderful actress. "I'm sorry Mr. Stevens. I'll leave you and Lydia alone for a few moments; just knock on the door as soon as you're ready to leave."

"Thank you," he said and then his gaze bore into me, sinister blue eyes burning into my head. He took a step forward and was just in the way of the door, it wouldn't close until he had totally gone past the threshold. To my chagrin he didn't seem to be in a hurry to enter the room. Both boys stiffened their backs against the walls, trying to disappear, but they had little to worry about. Secondhand had his attention fixed solely on me.

"Well, I suppose this little escapade's made you quite satisfied with yourself," his voice grew louder, "I don't know what I ever saw in you…it would have been better to leave you with your mother when I had the chance," he took another step and the door hissed and closed.

I let out a breath and rose as my uncle glanced to the side and saw his attackers. Furiously, he turned back to the door but it wouldn't open and all the pounding in the world didn't change the fact that he was sans his powers in the grips of three teenagers who had every reason in the world to hate him very much. His look then would have satisfied even the most rabid fanatic of candid photographs.

**AN: To my anonymous reviewers thank you, I suppose there's only one this time around.**

**Lalala: You are amazing my dear sir or madam. If I met you in real life I'd shake you warmly by the hand and thank you for your wonderful reviews. Thanks much for your input, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**


	13. Goodbye

Chapter 12.

I was glad now that I had told Warren the truth; otherwise I would've never been able to tear Will away from my uncle. All the fury that had changed him into a sarcastic, uncaring youth was now released on the man who had once been called Secondhand. Fortunately, we were in the detention room and therefore Stronghold was unable to kill my uncle like he wished.

Five minutes later, Wallace sat on the ground panting and holding a hand to his bleeding nose. We had frisked him and found a switchblade which I quickly took possession of. Will looked satisfied for the moment but Warren stood between them in case the boy should gain a second wind.

"So," the man spat out, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Your treatment of me was enough for this, but that's not why you're here," I replied, savoring the moment, "You're here because you were too clumsy _uncle_."

Realization dawned on his face. He had of course known that something was amiss here, but probably had not guessed that all of his plans were for naught and that I was indeed aware of the charade from the beginning. His face took on a bitter shade of pale and his mouth screwed up in determination. It was going to be a while before he'd be willing to talk about where exactly my father was. I tried the question anyway.

"Where's my father?"

Wallace began laughing, now aware of the important status he held in the whole situation, "You think I'm just going to tell you?"

Suddenly a shock of red hair and sunglasses became visible at the window. I withdrew the apprehended switchblade and pointed it at my uncle, "Go sit against the far wall," I said jabbing towards him persuasively. He didn't look too convinced, but a glance at Stronghold sent him moving.

The door opened again and Fintan entered with another agent. Knight was notably absent, but that wasn't especially surprising considering Wallace did not know of his existence. Alerting him to that fact would put Knight in great danger, should Wallace escape the authorities again. The second agent, a burly man with dark skin and shaved head, approached my uncle and clapped a tight bracelet on his arm. It glowed slightly with the same power-draining energy as the room and was locked into place by a key.

We were now all safe to go out of the room, without worrying about my uncle fleeing back in time. I was glad to put the glowing cage behind me, but Fintan stopped us for a moment, "I'm sorry but Warren and Will will have to stay here in detention…part of the deal I'm afraid."

I'd not anticipated this. It would be the last time I'd see either of them like this again if all went as planned. Warren looked crestfallen and Will suspicious, "How will we know if you keep up your end?" Will asked.

Fintan adjusted his sunglasses with a finger, "Well…if we do hold up our end you won't know," he flashed an easy, full smile and I looked between him and Warren with growing awareness of their similarities.

Will shrugged, this time stuff was beyond him and he knew it. He took a seat at a desk again and affected a bored expression. I stood in the doorway still, as Fintan turned and walked past me, "Make it quick," he said and in a moment was gone. The tone of his voice brooked no arguments, so I simply stood, looking at Warren and wondering how exactly you said goodbye to someone who wouldn't remember you the next day.

He walked forward in a manner which might have echoed the attitude of famous male leads in old-fashioned romance movies, if not for the sniggering of Will Stronghold in the background, "You have to try Lydia, I don't care what you have to do, you have to try to make me remember," Warren said as he came to a halt next to me. He took one of my hands and rubbed the knuckles with a large thumb.

I nodded, throat closing, eyes misting at the desperate tone of voice he was using. I couldn't tell him that I knew it was hopeless, "I'll try."

"Just recite Shakespeare or something," I knew he knew it wasn't that simple.

"Ok."

"Well, I guess this is…"

Will let off a string of explicative sentences before addressing us, "Warren, would you just kiss her already?"

So I think I must disappoint when I say, it wasn't at all what I expected it to be. I think I'd put an awful lot into the idea of my first real kiss, but very little of my ideas were based in reality, more on what I'd seen or heard. All the same, I shall leave you with this thought. For all that it wasn't, it was, and when we parted there were tears in my eyes that I couldn't stop from coming. "Bye Warren," and then I left and waited for the hiss of the closing door, before wiping my eyes.

For being a decidedly unromantic person (despite my frequent perusal of Shakespeare) the whole situation seemed ridiculous to me the next moment and I tried to put it from my mind. Still a part of me took the moment and locked it up in the secret recesses of memory, to be visited later when I wasn't persuading myself to be so practical. Right now there were other things to think about, like my father and how Secondhand would be persuaded to help us to bring him back.

It was raining terribly outside. The drops were quickly turning to sleet as the temperature dropped minute by minute. I now wished I'd not used my sweatshirt as a towel, and hurried to the black car that Fintan waited by. This would hopefully be the last time I'd look upon this school; funny thing was I believed whole-heartedly that I'd miss it. Fintan opened the door for me with one swift movement and motioned for me to get in. I slid over to the other window, noting that my uncle was glaring at me beyond a sound-proof barrier in the very back of the car.

Fintan got in the car next to me, opting not to sit next to his partner in the front seat. The other agent turned the key in the ignition and we were off, to what destination I didn't yet know.

000000000

It was two hours later. I was waiting inside a gloomy looking building in the offices of "the agency". Peculiarly enough there was neither door label nor stationary lying around that could tell me what exactly "the agency" was called. I'd seen enough people, several dozen in fact; all dressed alike to one another in dark pantsuits and sunglasses. None of them had made an effort to talk as we had passed and come to a small white room. My uncle was promptly shoved in with Fintan and his partner accompanying.

I sat outside in a nearby chair, next to a nondescript potted plant, feeling rather like I was in a hospital, waiting for some bad news. There was no sound from the white room, and in my mind I decided it must be soundproof. For if I was not too far mistaken that was an interrogation cell…not that I suspected foul play, this group would be stock-full of bureaucrats and paperwork just like any other government agency. Torture would not be an option for them.

I had begun to grow tired of looking up and down the hallway, staring at the linoleum floors and several identical doors when Fintan exited the room across from me, smiling.

"Good news," he said, "Your uncle plea-bargained for a double life sentence instead of facing a possible death penalty."

"His lawyer agreed?" I said jokingly.

"Well, once a person is classified as a super-villain they usually don't want a lawyer…actually quite a few super-villains are lawyers as their cover job," he replied with absolute seriousness.

"Oh," I answered, supposing that must be the source of all those evil lawyer jokes, "So what are we waiting for? Can we go get my dad now?"

"Yes, though it's going to be a bit more complicated than that. There's quite a bit of paperwork to fill out first," he seemed to soften at my pleading look, "but I can do that later. What's the point of being the head of an agency unless you can shove off work on lackeys?" his quick smile was there again.

"Yeah…" I laughed nervously.

"Well then," he took my hand in his, "hold on tight."

"What do you mean…" my voice squeaked as a white vacuum opened before us and we were sucked inside. I found myself clinging to Fintan's arm, unable to speak as our bodies flailed and twirled in the white nothingness around us. Suddenly a spot became visible ahead of us and we were drawn towards it with increasing velocity until there was no white at all. I closed my eyes in sheer panic until I felt the ground beneath my feet. Was this what traveling in time was like for my father? He'd never let me come with him, afraid that it'd be too dangerous.

"Time-jump," Fintan said in an explanatory tone, "Your father and uncle fast-forward and rewind time but I can jump from one place to another," he paused and looked down, adjusting his sunglasses in the bright light, "as long as I have the coordinates that is. Your uncle provided that."

"Oh," I answered meekly and then began examining our surroundings. We were in a shallow gully, a lazy river flowed a little ways on, edged by the same rocky ground we were currently standing on. Rickety train tracks rose above the river, the wood old and worn. Across on the other shore there was a strange caped man tying up a struggling female superhero.

"Jetstream," I said taking a step towards them, though we were hopelessly separated by the river.

"Don't worry," Fintan's hand came down on my shoulder, I realized suddenly that he looked younger, the time-jump must have affected him, "We're not here to stop that, we need to find Secondhand before he finds your father. I'm sure you can pause long enough for us to apprehend him once…"

"But I promised Will that we'd…" I started.

"I know. The only way to help Jetstream is to make sure your father is safe. Ah-hah, look over there, I think your uncle's just arrived."

I dutifully looked to where he pointed, a few yards away, attention focused entirely on the opposite bank stood Secondhand. I winced at my uncle's poorly chosen costume. No wonder he'd never been especially famous. He was clad entirely in an odd mix of spandex and protective armor, all colored a hideous lime green. His logo was emblazoned on his chest in black, a clock with secondhand nearing the twelve. Fortunately there was no cloak to add to the mess, but he did wear a black full face mask.

"Pause," Fintan barked before my uncle could see us.

So I did, fully expecting it not to affect my uncle. Surprisingly, everything within the radius I desired paused, including my uncle, and my father who had suddenly appeared just as I slowed time. Fintan and I ran to where my uncle was, just about to attack my unsuspecting father from behind, "So how," I said between breaths as we reached him and pushed him to the ground, "do you resist it?" I asked as the red-headed agent cuffed my uncle's unwieldy arms.

He shrugged, "Natural ability."

"Oh," I answered.

Together we dragged him up the hill behind an abandoned, tireless car that had been long ago stripped of anything worth having. The trick of time, I would learn later, was to not change the natural flow. Being seen there, before my father had performed his task, could be detrimental and could create other inconsistencies. We collapsed behind the vehicle with our burden and I let go of my hold as Fintan gagged my uncle. He was right to do that, the minute time started again he was mumbling incoherently behind the cloth. I realized it was the second time in one day that I had helped to bring this man to justice. It made me feel vaguely heroic.


	14. Back to Reality

Chapter 13.

I was a bit confused by the time my father had crossed the river and stopped the villain from proceeding to kill Jetstream, "So," I whispered to Fintan, "How is my uncle here, if he's actually at your office in a power-draining handcuff?"

We'd just returned from a time-jump to return Secondhand to his place in time. He'd had some parting words for me, as soon as the gag was removed, _"See what time tastes like? Death and bitterness…don't worry Lydia I'll be back and next time I won't make the same mistakes." He spat the words out and was dragged away by the men in black._

"Well," Fintan glanced at the ground. "Since your uncle didn't come back in time with us, he still committed the crime in the past. If he'd come, he would have taken the part of himself now, but since he didn't he was still here…does that make sense?"

"No, not even a little," I replied as we broke cover.

"Hello!" a voice shouted at us from across the river, "Hello!" It was Jetstream hailing us, apparently we'd come out too soon. Fortunately there were other people by the river now, so we dutifully cheered with the rest of them as she smiled, waved and posed for the cameras. A beeper went off on the side of her utility belt and she glared at it before answering.

"I'm sorry, but I must go, Mr. Norville's life has been threatened." Some people in the crowd sighed with remorse as she flew away, long red locks flowing dramatically in the wind.

"How does she keep her hair like that?" I muttered as I ran a hand through my own mussed mane.

"Special shampoo," Fintan answered matter-of-factly, "The hair business makes a fortune off of their special super-hero line of products."

"I really didn't want to know that…Who's Mr. Norville anyway?"

"He's the creator of the anti-gravitational technology that keeps Sky High afloat," a familiar voice answered from behind me.

I turned to embrace my father, who was now dressed normally. He smiled with no teeth and I breathed a sigh of relief as Fintan took up the explanation my father had left unfinished, "Secondhand admitted to messing that up as well. Apparently, he got to this point in time by bribing his cell-mate, the same man who just tried to murder Jetstream. In return for the information Secondhand promised to do a quick side-trip and steal Mr. Norville's plans before Sky High was built, by going back in time. I have no idea why the villain wanted that in return…but sometimes you just don't figure everything out."

"Good to see you Fintan," my father said and reached his free hand out to shake that of the young man, "Thanks for taking care of Lydia, I'm assuming Knight is all right as well?"

"Yes sir, I've taken the liberty of arranging for him to move in with the two of you in the present. Now that Secondhand is securely in hand, Knight can live safely with you," Fintan spoke in clipped tones, as one addressing their superior.

"Better that way for all of us," my father answered smiling down at me, "Well, Lydia and I better get going, she has school tomorrow…you know how it is."

"Yes sir. I'll get the full report to you within the week. Headquarters should be pleased with how it all turned out."

"Well you deserve a raise Fintan, just don't go spending it all in once place."

I couldn't stop the smile that came at hearing that familiar advice. It wasn't as if Fintan was a child but my father was under the impression that anyone under the age of thirty-five needed any and every piece of wisdom he had. Of course, that would have bothered me normally, but now the habit seemed like an old friend. My father was home, that was the important thing. Our running was over. With my uncle in jail, the last four years of moving here and there seemed a small price to pay.

I reached out a hand to shake Fintan's and then decided on a hug halfway through the execution. It wasn't as if one had the opportunity to hug a secret agent every day. I looked up at him and watched dark eyebrows hunch over darker eyes as he took off his sunglasses.

"Thanks Fintan, I don't know what your dad's like but mine is awesome," I glanced between the two men, "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't helped to bring him back."

"I understand" he seemed half-flattered, half-amused, "My parents are amazing as well," there seemed to be more to the statement then I could grasp. "Goodbye Lydia."

He vanished into another white vacuum. Off to the present, or wherever it was that this incredible young man lived. I looked at my father who seemed caught up in a moment of thought. I examined him, same blue eyes, same graying hair and thin nose. It was my dad alright, though I don't think I'd ever not look closely again. Strangely enough, even without the evidence I think I would have figured out eventually that my father had been replaced. Secondhand was a rotten actor.

My father glanced down finally, eyes slightly watery. I hoped he wouldn't cry, because I knew if he did I'd follow suit. With arm propped over my shoulders he spoke, "Well then, it's about time we got back," with that the world around us blurred.

That experience time-traveling was very unlike Fintan's. With my father (and I assumed my uncle) it was like fast-forwarding a video, except at enormous rates. I could briefly glance buildings rise under construction machines until it gained speed and then it was only a faint blur until we stopped in our house, rain pattering on the roof. We were in my room, my real room with slate-blue walls and dark comforter. Next door Ethan's house was receiving the same dousing.

"It'll all be right now, won't it?" I asked, my lip quivering. I knew this was Sunday night, the same Sunday night before the day that had changed my life forever.

"Yes, it will all be back to normal now," he answered, knowing that it was too soon to talk about everything that had happened. He stepped away towards the door, and then off-handedly, "Nice necklace. I'm going to order some pizza, is that alright with you?"

"Can we get Chinese instead?" I asked hopefully, clutching at the necklace that had come through time with me. I hoped it wouldn't set off some strange turn of events, but my father had always told me that people would be surprised how elastic time was. It was harder to change then a misplaced item or in this case a necklace from a now non-existent dimension.

"Sure, Knight might like that better actually. I'm sure he'll be here pretty soon," my father shouted from the kitchen as he searched for the phone book.

I'd forgotten about Knight. I knew I'd be glad to have someone other than my father to talk to about all of this. He was taking it so easily, but I had to remember that he'd been through things like this before. It wasn't much of a matter to him, but I felt like I was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. The doorbell rang and after a moment my father answered. I ventured out; Knight would need help with his luggage.

My cousin smiled at me from the doorway, the rain fell behind him in the darkness. The front light illuminated only three bags, surprisingly few for a permanent move-in. I realized quickly that I was much more of a pack rat than him. As neatly folded clothes were put into the dresser in the spare room, I felt glad that my father had insisted on this house, even though there had only been the two of us at the time. Of course with my father, who knew, maybe he'd seen this all in the future.

I smirked at the thought. My father left the room in a few minutes while Knight and I struggled to stretch the green bed sheets over the mattress. I panted and pulled the last corner over before collapsing onto the bed, "You can just put the sheet over and leave me Knight, I don't think I can get up. I didn't realize I'd still be sore from the other dimension."

He sat beside me, "Well it was all real, why shouldn't you? I'm surprised it's not worse considering the rumors that were flying after your "fight" in the cafeteria. I left with Fintan before I could hear more though," he finished with an amused chuckle.

"It was real though," I sat up, "Really real. I wonder…what would have happened there if we hadn't done anything."

"We'd both be without your father. I'd be raised by the government, and you'd have an abusive uncle instead."

"I suppose, it's just strange thinking about it. I think I still have spaghetti sauce in my hair," I mused, "I'm going to go take a shower," I stood and left the room, it wasn't as if Knight needed me to watch over him.

I stood under the hot water with eyes closed and steam rising up. Deep breathing came naturally in a moment and I was able to wash my hair and limbs with little difficulty despite by bruised shoulder. The same arm Will had jerked was now mottled at the joint with such differing shades of blue and green that I hardly believed a genuine Monet could compete. A few minutes later I stepped out, dried and re-dressed in my pajamas: a pair of flannel checkered pants and baggy red shirt that used to be part of my warm-up uniform for the basketball team I'd been a part of years ago.

My thoughts were easily sorted through now. The shower had relieved the jumbling that had threatened to give me a large headache. My father had been murdered in the past, I'd woken up to a different dimension, there I had a boyfriend and the first real kiss of my life, we'd rescued my father, imprisoned my villain uncle and now it was back to reality. Plain, old reality with no boyfriend, no kiss, no escaped villainous uncle and no aspirations for the future. Of course I had to admit some things had changed…I did have aspirations, there was no way I was going to sit on my backside and let villains like my uncle mess around with other people's lives.

Boy, would Mr. Mardos be pleased.

I rejoined my father and cousin. They were playing some bizarre card game and both sporting competitive gleams in their eyes. Apparently they'd played this game together before. I wondered how many times I'd been mad about my father's strange schedule when he'd actually been spending time with Knight. I wasn't really jealous, just glad that we would all be living together now, maybe my father would be able to spend more time with both of us now that Secondhand was taken care of.

The doorbell rang just as I opened my mouth to ask what they were playing. My father looked up, blue eyes pleading. I sighed in turn and took the crumpled bills that he handed me. My stomach growled with expectation of food as I walked to the door. I opened it with one hand, the other I used to smooth my wet hair.

The boy on the other side took one look at me and shoved the food into my arms without a word. I just stared.

Standing before me, still in apron, with hair tied back was Warren Peace.

**AN: Dundundun…Well? Tell me what you think! There's only one more chapter until the end…**


	15. Closure

Chapter 14.

My father had quickly registered Knight at Sky High, so the next morning we walked to the bus stop. I saw Ethan from halfway down the block, vivid in a bright green shirt. Both he and Magenta turned to face us as we approached, Maj with her customary cup of coffee. I wondered how awkward it was for Knight to pretend like he didn't know any of these people, when in actuality he had spent quite a bit of time with them in an alternate dimension. If it bugged him he didn't show it. Maybe he was just a good actor.

"Hi guys," I said as Ethan looked at his shoes. With all that had happened I had almost forgotten about his recently announced feelings for me.

Magenta grunted, narrowing her eyes at my cousin, "This is Knight, he's my cousin… he just moved in with us," I adjusted my backpack and stared at the pair with discomfort, "He's going to go to Sky High."

The bus pulled up and we piled in. Ethan sat behind Maj and we sat across from her. The bus driver did not ask who Knight was, and I wondered how many non-supers had snuck into a Sky High bus before. I was pulled out of my thoughts by Magenta's questioning tone.

"So is that Night like it was a dark and stormy night? Or Knight like a medieval knight?"

"Knight like K-n-i-g-h-t," he answered, not giving into Magenta's sarcastic tone. Maybe knowing them before wasn't such a bad thing, he had experience.

"I like your hair," she said suddenly, obviously lacking some clarity of thought because of the brightness of the morning. The storm system must have moved off during the night, "It's kinda like Warren's except longer and no red…" she continued vaguely.

"Is Warren your boyfriend?" my cousin replied nonchalantly, knowing perfectly well he was not.

Ethan guffawed and I zoned out of the conversation, glancing out the window every couple of seconds. It had been so weird that Warren had worked at the same Chinese restaurant that we had called…what was it again? Oh yeah the Paper Lantern, what a name. I wished I could have kept my mouth shut but the promise to try to do something about our less than friendly relationship had forced me into action. Without thinking I'd followed him out onto the front porch of my house.

"_Warren." He turned around with an annoyed expression, eyeing my strange attire with amusement. Before he could let a sarcastic comment out of his mouth I rushed on. "Warren, I just wanted to apologize about what I said." He wiped a few loose strands of steadily dampening hair out of his face, but the rain continued to pour. "I really shouldn't have insulted your intelligence like that, or your comic books…sometimes I just let my mouth get ahead of me…" I finished the sentence lamely and waited for some sign, some action that would signal forgiveness. I think I was expecting everything to work out, for him to widen his eyes in remembrance and sweep me off my feet... As if._

"_Yeah well, we all do stupid things, some more than others." he smiled wryly at the dig. Then he had shrugged and turned back to his car without a second thought and left me fuming at his arrogance._

I reemerged from my thoughts as the bus braked in front of Will and Layla's stop, my right hand playing with the punched out hourglass charm.

No matter what the bard had said in his sonnet, that incident last night had convinced me of one very important fact: Love was indeed time's fool.

000000000

I sat down across from Mr. Mardos, my senior advisor, and struggled not to smile. There he was before me, same brown eyes same wiry gray hair and eyebrows, same disapproving glare. It was probably the thousandth time that day that I'd realized how good it was to be back here in my reality. Mr. Mardos on the other hand looked like he'd rather perform a root canal on an alligator than talk to me about my future plans.

"So, Miss," he glanced down at his paper with his familiar forgetfulness, "Tudor, I hope this session will be more productive than our last."

"I think it will be Mr. Mardos," I answered cheerily, handing over some papers that I'd worked on the night before in a fever of hero glee. I wouldn't mention that the hero glee had been the product of trying to watch my cousin and father play the same card game several dozen times.

He glanced over the first two; they were in fact some preliminary sketches of what my costume would look like. They were exactly what he had been egging me to do from the beginning of the school year. The other sheets contained some ideas for theme music, sidekick garb and a few nifty devices…heck after doing all that I didn't half-blame Warren for liking comic books, it was a lot of fun to come up with all of that stuff. Of course, to be absolutely honest I hadn't really wanted to do it, but it was a necessary step in the process. I needed all the help I could get.

Mr. Mardos looked up at me with watery eyes, "Allergies, pardon me," he said and furiously dabbed with a tissue. I just leaned back in my chair and waited, one thing was for certain, I would be a superhero and my uncle could have my career decision on his conscience for the rest of his life. For indeed, without his influence, I would have never changed my mind.

When the bell rang I left the room feeling remotely satisfied with the conversation. I'd never even considered the idea that Mr. Mardos really did want to help me. I approached my locker and retrieved my books and my lunch. Knight had been assigned a sidekick schedule so I hadn't seen him all day. The administration really didn't know what they were missing out on, but Coach Boomer knew very little about the value of a hero who could tell when someone was lying or telling the truth. To him, if your power wasn't remotely showy there was no way you'd make the coveted hero assignment.

At least Knight had Magenta, Ethan and Zach to show him around, they were probably the best people in the school to do it. I pushed open the doors to the cafeteria and drank in the general chaos. It was so good to be back. Our table was currently occupied only by Magenta and Knight. The black and purple haired girl was looking at my cousin in a way that made me nervous; she was supposed to be dating Zach after all.

"Hey guys," I said and sat down between them with obvious intentions of stopping their conversation.

Magenta rolled her eyes and started picking at the food on her cafeteria tray, "Gosh Dia, way to butt into a conversation."

"Really? I'm sorry."

She waved me off and began shoving down some disgusting looking vegetable with gusto. The rest of the group was approaching from the other side of the table, Warren hanging two feet back and trying to look (I think) like he wasn't with them. Will and Layla sat down across from me, and I almost didn't mind the cheesy looks they were giving each other. I was in fact almost overwhelmed with happiness at seeing Will without a sneer on his face and Layla back to her cheerful self.

They said hi again to Knight and the low hum of conversation began, broken only intermittingly by the loud voice of Zach. I looked at every face in turn and almost didn't have time enough to finish my food; it all just seemed too mundanely wonderful to be true. When the bell rang, much sooner than I would have liked, Knight walked with me out into the hall.

"Wow…I'm glad we changed it Lydia," he started quietly, "I never imagined it could've been like that…so…so…"

"Normal?"

"Yeah, I'm just happy Fintan was able to help us out. Some people at the agency don't like him…you know, how stubborn he is," Knight laughed unguardedly, "I guess he gets that from you," he stopped suddenly, realizing that he had said something he shouldn't have. Dark eyes widened behind the rectangle squares that were his glasses.

"Why should he get that from me? Knight?!" I yelled after him as he hurried away to join the other sidekicks on their way to their classes.

I wouldn't find out the answer to that question until we were alone at home after the school day was over. He went straight to his room and made a phone call while I paced in the hallway. I'd been wondering what exactly he'd meant by that simple statement all day. I suddenly yelped as my father's hand came down unexpectedly on my shoulder.

"Poor Knight, don't worry he'll be alright…"

"How did you know?" I asked with puzzled expression.

"Word gets around, especially when time doesn't mean much to you. Explanations aside hun, Fintan ok'd me telling you."

"Telling me what?" I asked exasperated.

He took hold of both of my shoulders, "He didn't see any ill affects in you knowing and neither did I…of course we could just go back and erase your memory of it if we ever did find some anomaly, but time is usually more stable than that, it kind of snaps back into place unless you really coax it…"

His rabbit-trails were becoming annoying, "Father," I used the more formal term to get his attention, "What are you trying to tell me?"

"Well, when Knight said Fintan inherited your stubbornness…"

"That really wasn't what he said exactly."

"Do you want to know or not?" he smiled, and Knight's door opened revealing his bashful face, "Fintan is your son. Inherited some pretty unique powers, time-jumping, invulnerability to fire…" he paused at my surprised expression, "It's all in the future dear, you'll just have to wait for it. I wouldn't have told you any of it, but…"

"But I loused things up," Knight interjected ruefully.

"Not really, Fintan thinks it's all for the best and as head of the agency it really is up to him."

"This is all too complicated for me," I said with a wry laugh. I wondered at the full implications of what my father was saying, especially the bit about my son's invulnerability to fire. A thought came unbidden to my mind, maybe all of this, the strange tempest in time, was meant to be. Of course when your father can see the future, fate loses its magic. But for now I had only one thing to concentrate on, and that was my homework.

Time or not I still had to graduate high school.

_**The End**_

**AN: And there it is, I hope you all enjoyed this story, I know I appreciated your reviews very, very much! Please take a moment and tell me what you thought!**

**A couple people have asked me if there is going to be a sequel. I don't know at this point, but keep an eye out for it. I have some ideas, but I want to solidify my plans before I determine whether I'm going to write a full second story. **

**Thanks again for your support!**


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